30,000 pledges implemented under ‘Family Planning Innovations Day Amidst COVID-19’ Activity

AMMAN — Healthcare workers across the hierarchical spectrum within various public and private healthcare institutions throughout the Kingdom on Monday put into effect the pledges they made under the “Family Planning Innovations Day Amidst COVID-19” Activity.

Over 30,000 pledges were garnered since the introduction of the Activity on September 24, 2020, under the patronage of HRH Princess Basma. 

These were translated into action through the innovations, initiatives and events implemented by various healthcare institutions across Jordan, according to a statement from the princess’ office. 

The activity was launched by the USAID Health Service Delivery in collaboration with the Health Care Accreditation Council (HCAC). 

The pledges made focused on strengthening the role and contributions of healthcare professionals to enhance the quality of family planning services provided and to expand the scope of their application through all healthcare institutions. 

The activity offered these service providers an appropriate platform to ensure the continuity of care during the COVID-19 pandemic, while promoting client safety, protecting client rights, providing health education to clients and facilitating access to services.

According to a press coverage, the initiatives, pledges and activities that materialised were diverse and creative. They brought to light “pioneering and innovative notions for the utilisation of creative solutions and smart applications that aligned with the current circumstance, and also entailed the adherence to a number of necessary public safety precautions” read the statement. 

Malak Al Ouri, the director of Woman and Child Health Directorate at the Ministry of Health, said that this activity was pivotal to responding to the changes imposed and the limitations that prevented the continuity of family planning services, both globally and locally, and in some cases led to their cessation. 

She reaffirmed the importance of using family planning methods to avoid unwanted pregnancies in women who face health, economic, psychological or social risk factors.

Ultimately, the purpose of the “Family Planning Innovations Day Amidst COVID-19” Activity is to empower married couples to seek high quality family planning services and enable them to make informed decisions regarding their reproductive health option. 

By encouraging innovative pledges and their implementation, the activity also galvanised decision-makers, healthcare institutions and their cadres of professionals to support national approaches and sustainable development objectives to enhance family planning services during emergencies situations, such as the COVID-19 outbreak, despite any limitations and restrictions it imposes.

The activity encouraged the active participation and commitment of healthcare providers and empowered them to lead the drive towards improving the quality of family planning services, expanding access and ensuring care provision is continuously available all times through healthcare institutions across the Kingdom, concluded the statement.