JANUARY 2006

The Ministry of Social Development and UNICEF

Sign Agreements Worth Half a Million Jordanian Dinars

Amman (29 January, 2006) –The Minister of Social Development, Suleiman Tarawneh, and Nasser Moeini, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Officer-in -Charge in Jordan, signed today their 2006 annual work plans for Early Childhood Development and Child Protection Programmes at the Ministry of Social Development – UNICEF's total contribution to both programmes is JD 500,503 ($706,925). The annual work plans contribute to the overall objectives of the Programme of Cooperation for 2003-2007 between the Government of Jordan and UNICEF.

For the Early Childhood Development Programme UNICEF has allocated JD 222, 400 ($314,125) to support national efforts in providing a stimulating environment for child growth and development. The Programme is composed of three projects. The first is national policy development focusing on the establishment of a national parenting curriculum. The development of Early Childhood standards and indicators for the Jordanian child, a component of the first Project, is a major focus of this year's Programme. These standards measure a country’s level of knowledge and skills of its young children at various stages of their development. The second Project is Community Care for the Young Child; emphasis here is on supporting families and care givers with the required knowledge and skills for child care, and building the institutional capacities of the Programme's partners. The third project is the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses which aims at building the capacities of the Ministry of Health to implement the UNICEF-World Health Organisation (WHO) strategy for child heath.

A wide partnership has been established with the public and private sectors through the Early Childhood Development Programme. Partners include the Ministries of Social Development, Health, Education, and Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. Other important partners are the General Union of Voluntary Societies, Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development, Jordanian Women’s Union, UNRWA, Jordan River Foundation, Noor Al-Hussein Foundation, and National Council for Family Affairs, WHO, Abu-Thur Al-Ghafari Committe, Al-Farouq Society, and the private sector. During the past five years, the Programme has reached over 70,000 families.

As for the Child Protection Programme, UNICEF has allocated JD 278,102 ($392,800) this year to enhance the legislative environment concerning children and to build an information base on violence against children. The capacity building of professionals is a major thrust of this programme for both professionals working with children victims of violence and children in conflict with the law. The objective of this Programme is to also support programmes and policies that reintegrate children deprived of parental care and children in conflict with the law back into their families and communities. For this purpose, the Ministry of Social Development, the Family Protection Department, and UNICEF have established specialized Juvenile Units at two police centres and will establish four new ones this year. In combating child abuse, the Ministry of Health, supported by UNICEF, will establish ten Child Protection Committees at the main public hospitals to follow-up on the inflow of child abuse cases and ensure appropriate referrals.

Partner institutions working in this Programme are the Ministries of Social Development, Justice, and Health. Others are the Legislative Bureau, National Council for Family Affairs, National Centre for Human Rights, Public Security /Family Protection Department, MIZAN Law Group, the Jordan River Foundation, the Jordanian Society for Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence, Penal Reform International, and the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention.