The Higher Population Council, with support from the United Nations Population Fund, has conducted workshops in all three regions of the Kingdom to present and discuss priority issues and studies in the field of general and reproductive family health. These discussions were based on the findings of the 2023 Population and Family Health Survey, a survey conducted every five years by the Department of Statistics since 1990. These workshops were organized as part of the Council’s ongoing commitment to engaging experts and stakeholders in the governorates of the Kingdom to ensure their contribution to identifying research, programmatic, and service priorities for 2025.
During these workshops, a draft report prepared by the Council was presented and discussed, outlining priority issues and studies in reproductive health as revealed by the 2023 Population and Family Health Survey. This survey provides a wealth of data that helps assess demographic and health changes since the previous survey, evaluate the outcomes of population and health strategies and programs, and identify priorities that need to be addressed and allocate the necessary resources.
The first workshop for the central and northern regions was held on November 28, 2024, and was attended by the Director of the Women and Child Health Directorate at the Ministry of Health, the Head of the Information Section at the Directorate of Project Management, Planning, and International Cooperation, and directors of health in the central and northern governorates; representatives from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation; the Royal Medical Services; the Department of Statistics; the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; faculties of medicine and nursing at the University of Jordan, the Jordan University of Science and Technology, Hashemite University, and Al Balqa' Applied University; the Jordanian Health Aid Society; and the Health Services Quality Project.
The second workshop for the southern region's governorates was held recently, and was attended by directors of health and representatives from departments of health directorates in the southern governorates; representatives from the faculties of medicine and nursing at the University of Jordan/Aqaba, the University of Aqaba for Applied Medical Sciences, Al Hussein University, and Mutah University; Tafila Government Hospital, Al Shamiya Health Center, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Hospital/Aqaba.
During these workshops, the Secretary-General of the Higher Population Council, Dr. Issa Al Masarweh, highlighted the link between the results of the population and family health surveys and the goals and indicators of the relevant Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the implications of the results of these surveys on policies, programs, and services aimed at improving the health conditions of families in Jordan, especially the health of mothers, newborns, children, adolescents, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
The report's preparer, Dr. Musa Al Ajluni, reviewed the methodology and criteria for prioritizing issues and studies related to reproductive health, and the priority reproductive health issues using these criteria. He also presented a draft of lists of reproductive health studies that lead to policies, studies that lead to programs, and studies that lead to services, and presented the weights that will be used to evaluate the criteria for prioritizing reproductive health studies. Through the working groups that were divided according to the report's axes (policies, programs, services), participants reviewed these studies, suggested amendments, and assigned weights to each.
The Higher Population Council will soon launch the final version of this report to be accessible to researchers in the field of reproductive health academics, relevant national institutions, and graduate students. The council will work to disseminate these priorities to all relevant parties, as part of its efforts to provide an enabling research environment that empowers policymakers and program planners to use digital and scientific evidence in decision-making and implement practices aimed at improving key aspects of family health.
