‘91% of Jordanian children between 2-4 subjected to violent discipline’

AMMAN — Almost 91 per cent of Jordanian children between the ages of two and four are subjected to violent discipline, according to a report issued late Tuesday.

Jordan is one of the Middle East and North Africa countries with some notable successes in early childhood development, but areas for improvement remain, the World Bank’s “Expanding Opportunities for the Next Generation: Early Childhood in the Middle East and North Africa” report said.

In Jordan, there are some shortcomings in terms of children’s social and emotional development, the study said, adding that “only 22 per cent of three- to four-year-olds are attending early childhood care and education... and violent child discipline is nearly universal (91 per cent of children)”.

Social Development Ministry Spokesperson Fawaz Ratrout said each year the ministry deals with 2,000 children who are subjected to violence.

He added that all those children are above the age of four and unreported cases comprise 25 per cent of discovered cases.

However, Ratrout said he cannot comment on the figures in the World Bank report as he has not read it.

In terms of prenatal and delivery care, Jordan is doing well, the report said, as 99 per cent of births received prenatal care, 95 per cent received regular prenatal care and 99 per cent had a skilled attendant at delivery. 

In the first month of life, 1.5 per cent of children die, and in the first year of life, 1.8 per cent of children die, according to the report, which indicated the Kingdom has good immunisation coverage, with 93 per cent of children aged one fully immunised.

Malnutrition, it added, is a moderate problem in Jordan, with 8 per cent of children stunted. 

The first step in healthy early childhood development is simply surviving, said the report, which shows that the rate of infant mortality — children dying before their first birthday — is 18 deaths per 1,000 births in Jordan, while 15 children out of every 1,000 die in the first month of life.

Reducing under-five mortality rates by two-thirds is one of the Millennium Development Goals. Although infant and under-five mortality are below regional averages, they have shown no improvement over the past decade, according to the report.

Rates of infant and under-five mortality in the five years preceding the 2012 demographics and health survey are essentially identical to those in the five to nine years prior to the survey, the study said, citing figures from the Department of Statistics and ICF International.

With regards to nutrition, children in Jordan start their lives on a fairly healthy footing; however, after the first year of life, they experience a slight falling off from healthy growth, according to the World Bank report. 

In Jordan, 8 per cent of children up to four years old are stunted, according to the report.