19 January 2003
DEAD SEA — Working in parallel with the government to promote health awareness among Jordanian families, Johns Hopkins University on Saturday graduated health facilitators who finished a training course on reproductive health.
The 35 graduates from southern governorates finished a four-day training course on how to approach and address women in their areas and raise awareness on the importance of premarital tests (thalassemia) and birth spacing. The graduates will also refer people to where they can receive these services.
“The main mandate of this training is to acquire skills and knowledge on different components of reproductive health, including peri-marital counselling package,” explained Sana Naffa, Population Family Health Office, United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The peri-marital package, offering counselling to couples before and throughout their married life, has been introduced in 16 Ministry of Health clinics and 19 Jordan Association for Family Planning and Protection (JAFPP) clinics throughout the Kingdom.
The course, funded by USAID, brought together trainers from the Ministry of Social Development, JAFPP and the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD).
According to USAID Mission Director Toni Christiansen-Wagner some 120,000 women were reached by facilitators who underwent similar training previously, resulting in 12,000 women using modern contraceptives.
“All of those examples prove that outreach is needed and produces excellent results,” said Wagner.
Facilitators from north and central Jordan were also trained before this batch, and given similar information.
Tamara Mubeideen, a facilitator from JAFPP, Karak, believes that women have become more aware of the importance of family planning and the impact it has on better health for mothers and children, due to education.
“Education is playing a major role in changing women's behaviour. They seek higher certificates and better job opportunities,” explained Mubeideen.
Bushra Jabre, a senior communication adviser at Johns Hopkins said the immediate impact of this training and the need for it had been voiced by community women themselves.
“The idea of getting women to discuss their situation and take steps for better health is a sure way to foster momentum for positive change,” she explained.
“Two-thirds of the Jordanian community are below 25, they will form the future of Jordan. Thus, introducing reproductive health to this
target group is crucial to what the Kingdom will look like in 20 years,” said Naffa.
DEAD SEA — Working in parallel with the government to promote health awareness among Jordanian families, Johns Hopkins University on Saturday graduated health facilitators who finished a training course on reproductive health.
The 35 graduates from southern governorates finished a four-day training course on how to approach and address women in their areas and raise awareness on the importance of premarital tests (thalassemia) and birth spacing. The graduates will also refer people to where they can receive these services.
“The main mandate of this training is to acquire skills and knowledge on different components of reproductive health, including peri-marital counselling package,” explained Sana Naffa, Population Family Health Office, United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The peri-marital package, offering counselling to couples before and throughout their married life, has been introduced in 16 Ministry of Health clinics and 19 Jordan Association for Family Planning and Protection (JAFPP) clinics throughout the Kingdom.
The course, funded by USAID, brought together trainers from the Ministry of Social Development, JAFPP and the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD).
According to USAID Mission Director Toni Christiansen-Wagner some 120,000 women were reached by facilitators who underwent similar training previously, resulting in 12,000 women using modern contraceptives.
“All of those examples prove that outreach is needed and produces excellent results,” said Wagner.
Facilitators from north and central Jordan were also trained before this batch, and given similar information.
Tamara Mubeideen, a facilitator from JAFPP, Karak, believes that women have become more aware of the importance of family planning and the impact it has on better health for mothers and children, due to education.
“Education is playing a major role in changing women's behaviour. They seek higher certificates and better job opportunities,” explained Mubeideen.
Bushra Jabre, a senior communication adviser at Johns Hopkins said the immediate impact of this training and the need for it had been voiced by community women themselves.
“The idea of getting women to discuss their situation and take steps for better health is a sure way to foster momentum for positive change,” she explained.
“Two-thirds of the Jordanian community are below 25, they will form the future of Jordan. Thus, introducing reproductive health to this
target group is crucial to what the Kingdom will look like in 20 years,” said Naffa.
By Dina Al Wakeel
© Jordan Times 2003
