Jordan, along with the world, is celebrating the World Population Day on Thursday, July 11th which aims to raise awareness and advocate for population and development issues. Each year, the UN dedicates one population issue and calls upon the world’s countries and their organizations to support it. This year’s World Population Day celebrations are under the theme “25 years since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development: A Promise Expedited” which constitutes an opportunity to raise awareness on the mechanism under which choices and opportunities for women and girls have changed and to mobilize post-ICPD political support.
This year, World Population Day celebrations are focusing on the topic of ICPD 1994 in order to draw the world’s attention to its unfinished agenda. During ICPD, 179 country admitted the fact that reproductive health and gender equality are vital for achieving sustainable development.
In this regard, HPC reaffirmed in a news release issued to mark this occasion that Jordan is committed to the international conferences on population and development and to adopting their outcomes, including ICPD, taking into consideration the sustainable development goals priorities and drawing up a road map to implement the 2030 development agenda. Furthermore, Jordan Vision 2025 involves a comprehensive approach to goals that is based on the achievement of a prosperous and planned economy, deepening of reforms and integration of goals in the national and local plans, budgets and statistical systems and following-up to realize such goals.
HPC indicated that Jordan’s significant achievements in this area were a result of an integrated approach that is based on the investment in individual capacities, dignity and human rights as the basis of sustainable development; making education accessible to everyone; facilitating access to health services and ensuring their quality; combating poverty and ensuring inclusive social protection. These achievements are also thanks to the political and economic empowerment of youth and women and the adoption of a participatory approach which promotes public-private partnership and partnerships between civil society organizations.
HPC noted that despite these achievements, many challenges remain imposed, most notably is the continued negative consequences of regional crises on Jordan’s progress towards sustainable development. There are approximately 3 million non-Jordanians in Jordan, i.e. 31% of the population, 1.3 million of which are Syrian. These crises have resulted in high population growth rates, increased need for provision of basic services, strain of budget, high unemployment and poverty rates, slowed economic growth and increased public debt.
As for reproductive health services, HPC pointed out that Jordan has integrated these services into a human rights-based approach and invested in providing high-quality and inclusive services, contributing to better health for mothers and children, indicating that promoting women empowerment and equality, reviewing legislation and improving the environment of policies supporting women employment and protection against all kinds of discrimination and violence would contribute to ensuring better reproductive health outcomes for women and their access to inclusive and equitable rights.
HPC stated that the adoption of the sustainable development goals and the 2030 plan constitutes a golden opportunity for countries to fulfill their commitments to international development frameworks on population and development, by creating an enabling environment for systematic work towards achieving the goals and monitoring the means of implementation. Furthermore, HPC noted that it is important for political, economic, social, environmental and institutional aspects of development to be interlinked because they enhance the resilience of systems and institutions as something vital to implement ICPD Program of Action.
HPC further stated that Jordan will participate in the high-level international summit that will be held in Nairobi this November to mark ICPD’s 25th anniversary to mobilize support and renew commitment to ICPD’s Program of Action.
In celebration of this day, HPC intends to conduct a number of activities on the national and community levels in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders. These activities will include a drawing contest on “youth and unemployment” in cooperation with UJ in addition to a series of meetings and discussions. These activities will be concluded on 18/7/2019 with a ceremony that will involve launching the “National Standards for Youth-friendly Reproductive Health Services Document” which sets a framework for implementing the standards in the centers that wish to provide SHRH information and services on the national level and a play entitled “Not Shameful (Mosh E’ib)” in cooperation with the Performing Arts Center. The contest winners will also be honored at that ceremony and all drawings will be displayed.
