Jordan Times
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Queen launches Situation Analysis of Children in Jordan
Her Majesty Queen Rania launches the latest
Situation Analysis for Children in Jordan at the Children’s Museum on Monday
(Petra photo)
AMMAN (JT) - Her Majesty Queen Rania on Monday launched the latest Situation
Analysis of Children in Jordan, bringing some welcome news about the Kingdom’s
progress.
The report, which was prepared by the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA)
and UNICEF with the participation of several governmental and nongovernmental
organisations, as well as a number of youth representatives, hails Jordan as a
role model for progress in improving the quality of life of its young citizens
and identifies current challenges.
Six ministers attended the launch and committed specific action plans to tackle
these challenges based on the results of the report.
Lending her support to the launch, Queen Rania thanked all the partners for
their efforts in highlighting Jordan’s progress and outlining the challenges.
She commended the inclusion of young people’s voices in compiling the report,
stressing that they should always have a hand in the decisions that directly
affect their lives.
A number of youths worked on the analysis in partnership with UNICEF and the
NCFA to collect the data.
“We should always involve them and listen to them. They are, after all, the
majority of the population and have great contributions to make,” said the
Queen, who is president of NCFA and UNICEF’s Eminent Advocate for Children.
According to the report, Jordan is on track to achieve most of the Millennium
Development Goals; its human index has improved to ninth out of 19 countries in
the region.
Still, more needs to be done to improve antenatal care, monitoring of high-risk
pregnancies and postnatal coverage. The report states that the infant mortality
rate has declined to 22 deaths per 1,000 live births and the child mortality
rate to 27 per 1,000.
The Kingdom ranks 45th amongst 122 countries in the Education for All
Development Index, but the survey confirms that child labour is a problem in the
country.
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair Al-Ali said the
ministry is currently finalising its own report on child labour figures and will
release it shortly, with initial figures indicating 33,000 child labourers in
Jordan, one-third of them in Amman.
Minister of Education Tayseer Nueimi pledged to increase centres which work to
reintegrate dropouts into the school system. There are currently 19 such centres,
which he said will increase to at least 32.
Minister of Social Development Hala Latouf also promised to increase
rehabilitation programmes, while Health Minister Salah Mawajdeh said he will
work on improving workplace conditions to reduce the risks associated with child
labour as the country works to battle the problem.
The Labour Ministry will assess the work being done in East Amman to combat
child labour and roll out the project if they find it successful, Labour
Minister Bassem Salem said, while Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdul
Fattah Salah committed to raising the issue during Friday prayers and educating
the public through sermons.
The report, which relied on several elements espoused in the National Plan of
Action for Children, explores the overall conditions that affect the lives of
children, including environment, demographics, governance, cultural and social
factors.
In addition, it discusses national efforts to secure the rights of women and
children through legislative and political initiatives, and
comprehensive-integrated service coverage.
The report also focuses on the issue of health and nutrition, as it affects the
quality of mothers and children’s survival trends, and the problems that need
more attention in this respect, while tracing trends in educational service
provision and participation therein, starting from early childhood, to basic and
secondary education.
UNICEF publishes the report every five years, and this is the first year it
partnered with a local organisation to help in the findings. NCFA was chosen as
a partner due to its expertise in the field of child and family issues.
UNICEF, which began its cooperation programmes in Jordan in 1952, is hoping to
replicate this example globally.