Q&A
UESTIONS & 
NSWERS
UNICEF Jordan Country Office
In brief, what is the history of the UNICEF Jordan Country Office ?
UNICEF began its co-operation programmes in Jordan in 1952 by providing aid to women and children. Then it later extended its operations throughout the country expanding its programmes to include health, nutrition and education. The goal of the current cycle (2008-2012) will support national efforts in realizing the rights of children, with a particular focus on building national capacity to address adolescent participation and empowerment, young child survival and development, and protection of children from violence and abuse.
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What are UNICEF Jordan’s programmes ?
The UNICEF Programme of Cooperation in Jordan comprises five programmes:
Young Child Survival and Development (YCSD)
Child Protection
Adolescent Participation and Empowerment
Policy, Advocacy and Partnerships for Children’s Rights
Emergency Education
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What are the objectives of the YCSD Programme ?
This programme contributes to the realization of UNDAF outcome 1 (Poverty and Social Services) which in turns supports the achievement of Millennium Development Goals 1, 4, and 5 (Poverty, Child Mortality and Maternal Mortality). Specifically the programme will aim to achieve:
- An additional 15% of families adopt appropriate child care practices to enhance child development.
- An additional 30% of infant and children under five have access to IMCI services.
- Comprehensive ECD legislation and government policies are guided by evidence founded on the Early Learning and Development Standards framework
The programme component will be implemented through two interrelated and mutually reinforcing projects:
Early Childhood Policy
Quality Care for the Young Child
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What were the major activities conducted by the YCSD Programme ?
YCSD’s Early Childhood Policy Project aims to improve children’s developmental status through the work on Early Learning and Developmental Standards. These standards will shape the quality of all services aimed at young children and will be the basis for the development of ECD assessment tools and the establishment of a national monitoring system for key ECD indicators. In order to promote ECD, a manual for caregivers was developed and used in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Development.
The Quality Care for the Young Child project aims to assist the Ministry of Health to upgrade the quality of primary health care through the expansion of the implementation of IMCI services. A special focus will be on neonatal care and improving the level of care during peri-natal period. The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) will be revitalized to upgrade the quality of services at the tertiary level. This will be complemented by the expansion of parenting programmes promoting exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding, proper health care practices including community IMCI and positive parenting practices.
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What does the Child Protection Programme do?
The overall goal of this programme is to contribute to the achievement of UNDAF outcomes 1 and 2 (Poverty Reduction and Social Services; and Good Governance) and is guided by the Millennium Declaration and international Human Rights treaties (CRC and CEDAW). It specifically aims to achieve the following results:
• Policy and legal frameworks related to child rights are aligned with international standards;
• The number of children having access to child-abuse detection and referral services in the health system is increased by 30 per cent;
• 25 per cent of children in conflict with the law are benefiting from restorative justice approaches and reintegrated into their families and communities;
The programme component will be implemented through the following inter-related projects:
Legislative and Policy Development
Children at Risk
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What are the major activities which will be conducted by the Child Protection Programme?
Legislative and Policy Development project aims to contribute to national efforts for an effective legislative and policy framework to further the protection of children’s rights in line with the CRC, CEDAW and other human rights obligations and international standards.
While the Children at Risk project will address the national justice system to ensure that mechanisms are in place to provide protection for children who come in contact with the law and strengthen the child-friendly legal system and investigative and court procedures that is anchored on a restorative approach.
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What about the Adolescents Programme?
The Adolescents Programme contributes to the improvement of the development of leadership and participatory skills for both girls and boys. At the national policy level, the Programme produced a national youth survey.conducted in cooperation with the Department of Statistics. The survey looks at youth in relation to education, employment, mobility and social relations, participation and citizenship, and regional differences.
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What are the Adolescents Programme’s objectives ?
The programme aims at achieving the following:
• Establishing an officially endorsed national youth strategy
• Setting plans of action based on the endorsed strategy in the Higher Council for Youth, Ministry of Education, Health and Social Development.
• Training of young boys and girls aged 10-19 years with knowledge about a minimum of 10 out of 15 key areas of basic life skills and healthy life styles.
• Training of service providers who are implementing youth projects that meet a set of criteria for participatory gender sensitive projects
• Involving young boys and girls aged 10-19 years in participation structures
• Identification of at risk children in three governorates who are involved in innovative home, school and community based interventions for adolescent development and participation
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What is the Community Development Programme ?
Community Development is a process by which underprivileged communities are encouraged to identify their needs and problems so as to start sustainable and integrated community –based projects to meet these needs.
In 1992, UNICEF Jordan identified Al Nasr area, east of the capital Amman, to launch a pilot community development project. Two more committees were developed in Al Naser with the aim of bringing together organisations, agencies and residents to assess resources and needs and to come up with action plans.
Community members were engaged in a wide range of activities which have achieved notable progress in fulfilling community needs, particularly that of children and women.
The geographic areas which the Community Development Programme covers during this new programme cycle (2003-2007) are Mafrak, Zarqa and Irbid.
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What are the objectives of this programme?
The objectives of the Community Development Programme include the harmonisation of development approaches in the country. Another objective is to have our main partner, the Ministry of Planning, adopt the UNICEF Community Development approach in one of their pilot areas.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What organisations does UNICEF Jordan work with?
UNICEF Jordan works in close collaboration with the Government of Jordan and many other organisations, including UN and civil society organisations. Also UNICEF’s programmes enjoy committed support from the Royal Family, the Jordanian government, and NGOs operating in the Kingdom.
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What are the approaches followed by the UNICEF JCO programmes ?
The programme follows a rights-based, gender sensitive and life cycle approach. At the national level, the programme focuses on informing policy and legislative changes through surveys, research, advocacy, mobilisation, facilitation of policy dialogue and setting standards at all levels with opinion leaders. This will be coupled with alliance-building and strategic partnerships at all levels, with opinion leaders, the private sector, youth, civil society organisations and other United Nations agencies.
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What is the National Movement for Children and Monitoring of Rights Programme ?
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This Programme works on ensuring that the status of both children and women remain high on the national agenda effecting policy and behaviour change. It also deals with mobilising media and decision makers effectively and ensuring that mechanisms and channels of information and communication are in place. Particular emphasis is on information related to the World Fit For Children document, UNSSC follow-up action, and organisational priorities.
The programme focuses on engaging the private sector and donor community to contribute funds in support of identified programme priorities for example the private sector was approached to raise funds for the Global Movement for Children. As a result Jordan Telecom supported the travel of two youths and two NGOs to attend the United Nations Special Session on Children.
The media is a key partner in this programme and is actively and regularly promoting issues of concern. For example, and for our milestone report the SOWC report , the media was invited to meet with the Minister of Education and students and mothers whose story was documented in the flagship report. Open channels of discussion are promoted through the National Movement, the media, and key partners. This ensures that issues pertaining to women and children are understood, and action is taken
The programme also works with the government and other partners in monitoring the situation of children and women. This is done in cooperation with key partners like the Ministry of Planning, the Jordanian Department of Statistics, the National Council for Family Affairs and other scientific and research institutions.
Monitoring the situation of children and women is done through supporting key studies, and the preparation of reports for national and international level reporting on their situation.
