Jordan Times
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Action plan launched
It addresses prevailing high rates of infant mortality which health
practitioners have attributed to the low percentage of women receiving postnatal
care
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN — Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania on Monday sealed their
commitment to a ten-year national action plan designed to carry forward in the
standards of health, education and well-being of children across the country.
The National Plan of Action for Children (NPAC), unveiled before a host of
government officials, dignitaries and UN agencies, represents an additional path
in the mission towards improved child care in the Kingdom.
It builds on ongoing national initiatives to secure children with better health,
protection from abuse and develop the institutional capacities of entities
concerned with children. One of the targets set out in the plan focuses on
boosting the status of maternal health in the Kingdom, which, despite
considerable progress over recent years, continues to lag behind in some areas.
The 2002 Demographic and Family Health Survey indicated that some 42.5 per cent
of pregnant women suffer from iron deficiency anaemia while maternal mortality
stands at 41 per 100,000 live births. The action plan seeks to reduce maternal
deaths to 15 per 100,000 live births, and reduce iron deficiency anaemia among
women to 15 per cent.
The plan also addresses prevailing high rates of infant mortality which health
practitioners have attributed to the low percentage of women receiving postnatal
care. According to studies, 65 per cent of mothers examined immediately after
giving birth do not return for postpartum examinations.
Investments in improving child nutrition and reducing infant mortality rates
have been highlighted under the plan. The report's authors stated the need to
reduce the current 20 per cent rate of anaemic children to 10 per cent, and the
15 per cent rate of Vitamin A-deficient school-age children to 5 per cent.
Prime Minister Faisal Fayez yesterday reaffirmed his government's commitment
towards securing the rights of children and implementing all policies pertaining
to their well-being.
“We will continue to support all concerned institutions in the field and build
on the achievements they have made and continue our work to attain the goals we
have not yet reached,” said Fayez.
“Such support will extend across the national level and work in developing the
statistical capacities of entities to ensure the compilation of accurate data on
issues such as gender, age and relevant groups,” he added.
The prime minister also commended the Kingdom's ability to significantly reduce
child mortality rates over the past decade and ensure free healthcare for all
children under the age of six.
He said such services extend to some 30,000 children living in the Gaza refugee
camp near Jerash under a Ministry of Health initiative.
King Abdullah and Queen Rania, who have placed the development of Jordanian
children and youth a priority on the national agenda paved the way for the
plan's implementation by signing a “Statement of Commitment” yesterday.
Another component of the action plan addresses the shortcomings in youth
knowledge about vital health issues such as puberty, healthy lifestyles and
HIV/AIDS.
The plan recommends ongoing monitoring and prompt reporting on sexually
transmitted diseases and the formulation of national strategy on AIDS prevention
that targets youth.
With some 1,136 orphans currently in care, most of them the product of broken
homes, the plan recommends providing “at-risk” families with support programmes
and to encourage them to deal with their children rather than place them in
institutional care.
The NPAC is to be implemented at a cost JD804,389 under a steering committee
headed by UNICEF and the National Council for Family Affairs.
The committee is expected to submit a mid-term progress review after five years
and a final review in the last year of the plan's implementation.