Jordan Times
Thursday, March 18, 2004
National reproduction plan launched
AMMAN (Petra) — The Higher Population Council (HPC) on Wednesday launched a national reproduction plan aimed at involving the public and private sectors in family planning.
Deputising for the prime minister, Health Minister Saeed Darwazeh addressed a ceremony to mark the occasion. He described the plan as an important qualitative step in Jordan's socio-economic development process, striking a balance between population and available resources.
The Kingdom faces varied challenges as it strives to implement family planning programmes, which constitutes an important turning point in national development, said the minister.
Last October, the government entrusted a HPC committee with launching a media campaign to alert the public about the serious population challenges facing Jordan and the pressure which high population growth places on the country's resources.
It said the problems of poverty and unemployment are in fact a consequence of the population problem.
HPC Secretary General Zuhair Kayed said the council was striving to overcome obstacles and challenges in the course of carrying out its task, mainly the absence of a health database to help decision makers. Another problem is that large numbers of Jordanians, particularly children, are not covered by a health insurance plan, he added.
Kayed warned that Jordan might witness an “explosion” in the number of young women of reproductive age, that could reach 50 per cent of the population by 2020.
He said the national reproduction plan would result in an increase of the number of people using family planning methods.
Basma Iishaqat, the plan's coordinator, said it was drawn up in response to the public's need for better reproductive health and family planning. She noted that the plan would help the government define the state's basic strategy between now and 2007.
With this plan, Ishaqat added, the government is encouraging all concerned parties to get involved in the national effort to rationalise population growth, to run in harmony with the country's sustainable economic development.