HPC addresses wide range of economic, social concerns in Q2 of 2018

AMMAN — The Higher Population Council (HPC) on Tuesday said it covered a wide range of social and economic topics that address the concerns of Jordanians in the second quarter of the year, Maysoun Zu’bi, the council’s secretary general, said on Tuesday.

Over the past three months, the council has been conducting studies aiming to achieve development in many areas such as youth and entrepreneurship, reproductive health, underage marriage, women’s role in economic growth, drug use, demography of Syrians in Jordan and the challenges present in the job market.

The council directed a study on population characteristics of Syrians living in Jordan since 2011, with the objective of finding solutions to overcome challenges caused by the influx of refugees over the past seven years. 

“Since many Syrians are currently in Jordan, we can empower them and enable them to do projects that will help them when they return to their country,” she said at a press conference held at the HPC.

“We are interested in building a partnership between Jordanians and Syrians in Jordan, which we hope will be on a wider scale when they return to Syria." The council aims at expanding the partnerships on the regional level afterwards, she said, to achieve economic cooperation between Jordan and other countries in the region.

Zu’bi added that HPC also prepared a study that focuses on reproductive health and abortion. 

“We believe it is essential for everyone to have knowledge on reproductive health within the limits set by culture, traditions, religion and the Jordanian Constitution,” she told reporters. 

The council is preparing for a partnership with the University of Jordan, to find appropriate texts to include youth-friendly reproductive health material in the curricula, she said.

In the field of entrepreneurship, Zu’bi said the council conducted a study for university students, where the results showed that a high percentage of them do not have enough knowledge on entrepreneurship or whom to contact in that area.

“Many young Jordanians do not know what entrepreneurship is, or the organisations that adopt or fund their ideas, or the skills they should have in order to excel. The council contacted organisations that operate as ‘umbrellas’ for youth-led projects, in which 50 Jordanians from all over the Kingdom were able to put their ideas into practice”.

On the issue of underage marriage, the council, she said, finalised a plan for the upcoming four years in cooperation with associated institutions and Sharenet Jordan, to limit child marriage rates in the Kingdom. 

The council will conduct a study on long-term consequences of child marriage and its impact on the health of underage girls, along with holding discussions and awareness campaigns on the topic through a scientific approach. 

“When a child raises another child, it indicates that the economic growth rates of the country will drop.”

The council also prepared a national strategy to monitor the developments in the demographic window policies for the  years 2017 to 2022. 

Another study was about drug use in Jordan and its impacts on mental health, where the council plans to collaborate with the Scientific Research Support Fund to limit the use of drugs among Jordanians. 

The council also proposed a plan to form a regional higher population council, Zu’bi said, adding that 10 out of 14 Arab countries voiced their willingness to join the joint council, to cooperate on regional and economic issues, according to Zu’bi.