The Higher Population Council (HPC), in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), launched on Sunday, the 2020-2030 National Strategy for Reproductive and Sexual Health.
According to a joint statement, Ilham Khreisat, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health for Administrative and Financial Affairs, said that Jordan has made great strides in the reproductive health field, especially in reducing the maternal mortality rate by providing advanced health care.
The ministry, she noted, is committed to improving the quality of preventive and curative health services provided, and to upgrade reproductive health services. Maternal and child services and family planning are provided free of charge in about 520 centers affiliated with the Ministry of Health, she noted.
These services include pregnancy care (prenatal and postpartum), child care (up until the age of five), family planning services, health counseling and education, in addition to vaccinations for pregnant women and children, early breast cancer screening and investigation of domestic violence, she added. Khreisat also stated that the ministry provides health services to Syrian refugees living in remote areas.
Speaking about the strategy, the Secretary-General of the HPC, Abla Amawi, stressed that it is a point of reference for the various stakeholders in Jordan to develop, harmonize or incorporate institutional plans to create comprehensive services and integrated reproductive and sexual health information guide and achieve families’ overall well-being.
The strategy, Amawi indicated, is based on evidence, data and lessons learned from international, Arab and national reports and studies, taking into account the local context on the reproductive and sexual health priorities.
Additionally, Amawi highlighted a number of challenges facing reproductive and sexual health in the Kingdom, including, the limited integration between sexual and reproductive health programs and primary health care programs in health centers and obstetrics and gynecology services in hospitals, and the shortage and weakness in programs that evaluate the level of sexual and reproductive health services provided in the public and private sectors.
Moreover, Amawi pointed to a subpar sexual health services for sexually transmitted diseases and the health of adolescents and youth in public health centers.
For his part, the United Nations UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan, Anders Pedersen, stressed that the UNPF is committed to ensuring that sexual and reproductive health and rights remain at the heart of development, noting: “Failure to meet sexual and reproductive health needs deprives individuals of the right to make critical choices about their bodies and their future, and will have a consequential impact on the well-being of their families and future generations.
Source: Jordan News Agency