Statement by Laila Baker, UNFPA Jordan Representative

Fifty years ago, the world declared that “parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of their children,” at the United Nations International Conference on Human Rights in Tehran, on 13 May 1968.

Family planning is not only a matter of human rights; it is also central to women’s empowerment, reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development.

Yet, in Jordan, around 1 in 8 women aged 15-49 are still not able to access safe and effective family planning methods, for reasons ranging from lack of information or services to lack of support from their partners or communities. This threatens their ability to build a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.

UNFPA is fully committed to continuing to support Jordan’s efforts to uphold the right of individuals, especially women, to plan a family. We partner with a large number of Jordanian institutions, most notably, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Planning, Department of Statistics and the Higher Population Council as well as a wide range of non-governmental organizations to provide family planning services to the neediest women and families across the country.

Since 2012, UNFPA has supported family planning in Jordan by ensuring a reliable supply of a full range of modern contraceptives and promoting gender equality at 20 women’s and girls’ safe spaces and 21 reproductive health clinics across the country, including in the refugee camps.

Jordan’s national plans and targets for its 2030 agenda cannot be realized without investments in family planning. UNFPA firmly believes that expanding access to and awareness of family planning is a strategic and doable contribution to the country’s future.