The Higher Population Council held on Monday, in cooperation with the King Hussein Foundation, the Institute for Family Health and with the support of the Dutch Embassy, a training workshop on the national standards for youth-friendly reproductive and sexual health services, with the participation of health and social workers from the Institute for Family Health centers in (Sweileh, Zarqa, Karak and Ajloun).

The workshop, which will last for 3 days, aims at introducing health and social workers at the Institute for Family Health to the national standards for youth-friendly reproductive and sexual health services, while taking into account the sensitivity of local culture and religious values, as well as establishing mechanisms for the application of the standards at the centers in (Sweileh, Zarqa, Karak and Ajloun).

The Secretary General of the Higher Population Council Dr. Abla Amawi stated that the National Standards Document for Sexual and Reproductive Health Services provides a frame of reference for various partners in Jordan. Through this framework, it is possible to develop, adapt or incorporate institutional plans into interventions necessary to achieving a supportive environment for both male and female youth, as well as universal access to comprehensive reproductive and sexual health information and services to contribute to the well-being of Jordanian youth.

The Director of Programs at the Higher Population Council Dr. Sawsan Dajah explained that the training workshop includes a number of topics, starting from the nature of youth-friendly reproductive and sexual health information and services, to the status of such services and the purpose of developing a national standards document for youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services, including the beneficiaries of such standards and the principles of service delivery.

National standards are grouped among eight themes: empowering young people and advertising sexual and reproductive health services; strengthening support for young people through community support; provision of appropriate sexual and reproductive health services and information packages; service providers’ competency; service delivery profile and characteristics; equality, justice and non-discrimination; quality and improvement of data and information; and youth participation.

The workshop is expected to come up with future steps to provide a suitable sexual and reproductive health package under the umbrella the Institute for Family Health Care’s centers.