New Year’s babies: Over 600 babies born in Jordan on New Year’s Day — UNICEF

AMMAN — An estimated 614 babies were expected to be born in Jordan on New Year’s Day, according to UNICEF.

Globally, over half of these births were estimated to take place in 10 countries: India (59,995), China (35,615), Nigeria (21,439), Pakistan (14,161), Indonesia (12,336), Ethiopia (12,006), the US (10,312), Egypt (9,455), Bangladesh (9,236), and Democratic Republic of the Congo (8,640), according to a UNICEF statement.

Jordanian babies were to account for 0.16 per cent of the estimated 371,504 babies who were expected to be born on New Year’s Day. Their average life expectancy is expected to be 86.3 years.

“This has been a difficult year for all of us, and there is perhaps no better way to turn the page than to welcome new young lives into the world,” said UNICEF Jordan Representative Tanya Chapuisat. 

“With the challenges of 2020 behind us, and the opportunities of 2021 before us, now is the time to begin to build a better world. Children born today will inherit the world we begin to build for them — today,” she added. 

The year 2021 marks the 75th anniversary of UNICEF. Over the course of the year, UNICEF and its partners will be commemorating the anniversary with events and announcements celebrating three-quarters of a century of protecting children from conflict, disease and exclusion and championing their right to survival, health and education, said the statement.

“Today, as the world faces unprecedented challenges caused by the pandemic, economic slowdown, rising poverty and inequality, we are reminded that the need for UNICEF’s work is as great as ever,” read the statement.

“There is no more appropriate year than this — the year of UNICEF’s 75th Anniversary — to renew our commitment to each other, and to the young lives who will inherit the world we leave,” said Chapuisat.

“The year 2021 will be a critical year for children, but UNICEF’s three-quarters of a century of delivering results for children around the world are a testament to what we can accomplish together,” the statement quoted Chapuisat as saying.