On Thursday, Higher Population Council (HPC) in cooperation with the Ministry of Health held an introductory workshop on the national standards for youth-friendly reproductive health services, which targeted the relevant health staff and personnel in the Ministry of Health.
The workshop aimed at introducing the participants to the national standards for the provision of youth-friendly reproductive health services, taking into account the sensitivity of the local culture and religious values, and setting the necessary mechanisms for applying the standards within the institutions concerned.
The workshop dealt with several topics related to the concept of youth-friendly reproductive health services, the current status of such services in Jordan, the objective of the national standards document for youth-friendly reproductive health services, the beneficiaries of the standards, service delivery points and locations, and the principles of service delivery.
The Director of the Program Unit in the Higher Population Council, Dr. Sawsan Al-Da'jeh, reviewed the contents of the national standards document for youth-friendly reproductive health services. Moreover, the Director of the Women and Children Health Department in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Malak Al-Aouri, conducted a presentation on the concept of reproductive health, its components and its related services. Furthermore, the future steps to provide an appropriate package of reproductive health information and services were discussed during the workshop as well.
It is noteworthy that the youth category is one of the main pillars in the Jordanian society, where they make up 20% of the total population. However, they do not receive the necessary attention and lack knowledge regarding reproductive health information. The youth are the group most in need of health services, which are often unmet, and are the most vulnerable to sexually-transmitted diseases. The provision of an integrated package of reproductive health services is essential to assisting the youth in making sound decisions in this regard.
