Jordan shares the celebration of World Population Day, which takes place on 11th July each year. This year’s celebration title is “ rights and choices are the answer: Whether it is baby boom or birth control, the solution to changing fertility rates is to prioritize reproductive health and rights for all.”
In a special press release on the occasion, Secretary-General of the Higher Council for Population, Dr. Abla Amawi, noted that, in a paper prepared by the Council to monitor the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of births in Jordan, based on Civil Affairs Service data According to the months of 2020 and updated on 9/2/2021, compared with the corresponding number of births by months for 2019, it is noted that the number of Jordanian births has declined by 12 months for 2020 compared to 2019. However, the decline in the number of births in the first month of December and the births in the month of March 2020 which marked the beginning of COVID-19 quarantine in Jordan, in which there was a severe decrease in birthrate marking the biggest decrease among all months of the year, in which there was a decrease from 14,506 births in the month of 2019 to 12,946 births in the month of 2020, down 10.8%, contrary to expectations, as the number of births was expected to rise this month as a result of the ban that began on 21 March 2020.
She revealed that according to the Population and Family Health Survey (2017-2018), 21% of the previously married females between the ages of (15-49 ) had experienced physical violence at least once since they were 15 years old, 2% had experienced physical violence during pregnancy, while 26% of women between the ages of (15-49) who had previously been married had suffered physical, sexual, and emotional abuse while 21% of woman had been exposed to emotional violence, 18% suffered from physical abuse, 5% faced sexual abuse from their partners.
Amawi implied that many local and international studies and reports showed that sexual and reproductive health services are increasingly needed during crises, emergencies, and conflicts as they increase with the spread of COVID-19.
Due to the negative effects of these conditions on adequate health infrastructure, health care delivery in general, sexual, and reproductive health in particular, access to sexual and reproductive health services is declining.
As she explained Pregnant women face an increased risk of life-threatening complications and many women do not have access to family planning services. In addition, they are exposed to unwanted pregnancies in dangerous circumstances, which will definitely lead to harmful practices such as child marriage, and the breakdown of protection systems often leads to an increase in gender-based violence. Moreover, the burden of caring for their children and others makes it difficult for women to take care of themselves.
Therefore, The Higher Population council aims to give these causes big importance through its programs. Yet, there is a need for uniting and reinforcing national efforts in the coming years. Stressing the significance of authorizing the legislations and policies that support women empowerment and assisting them in doing their central roles in society while ensuring their safety and protection. Amawi also stresses on the importance of policies and national strategies that guarantee her effective involvement in all areas as well as all services.
Based on the results of the Population and Family survey (CPR) of 2017-2018, 53% of married women currently use the method of family planning, while 37% prefer modern birth control methods and 14% keep to the traditional methods, and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there may be a shift from modern family planning use to refraining from using any valid method as their needs are not tended which implies that this 14%(including 7% spacing pregnancies and 8% on birth control) of married women wish to space pregnancies but refrain from using contraception methods, which will result in unwanted pregnancies.
According to the 2021 State of World Population report issued by the United Nations Population Fund, the lack of physical independence may be aggravated during the pandemic, endangering record numbers of women and girls at the risk of gender-based violence and harmful practices such as child marriage.
The Higher Population Council indicated that, in celebration of this occasion, it will arrange a number of events and activities, most notably the launch of the National Reproductive and Sexual Health Strategy (2020-2030) and organizing a training workshop on the indicators of the National Reproductive and Sexual Health strategy for partners, in addition to conducting a short play targeting young people that have been identified according to the symbol and theme of (International Population Day) within the three regions of the Kingdom (North, Central, and South), and the launch of a study and a summary of policies for “Enhancing the Participation of the Private Sector in Providing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Jordan”, as well as a summary of the policies of the links between climate change, sexual, and reproductive health in Jordan, A summary of the policies "The Impact of Female Students Dropping Out of Schools on Women's Economic Participation and Sexual and Reproductive Health in Jordan".
