Amman, March 30 (Petra) -- The Higher Population Council, in cooperation with UNICEF, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, and other relevant entities, on Monday held the first meeting of a task force on gender-responsive school health to come up with a roadmap to make school environments more responsive to adolescent girls' needs and ensure a more inclusive and supportive learning environment.
The meeting also aimed to examine the integration of gender-responsive school health into the National Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and its implementation plan, while following up on indicators to measure progress in meeting adolescent girls' health needs within school health environments, the council said in a statement.
Secretary-General of the council Issa Masarweh said educators, school infrastructure, curricula, and extracurricular activities all play a central role in protecting the health of successive cohorts of adolescent boys and girls before they graduate, adding that addressing this issue is part of an educational process that responds to the developmental needs of adolescent girls within the school setting.
For his part, Chief of WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) at UNICEF Jesus Trelles said the organization supports efforts to ensure adolescent girls have access to hygiene services and facilities in schools, describing this as essential to protecting their health, safeguarding their rights, strengthening their self-confidence, and enabling them to continue their education without barriers in a safe and supportive school environment.
Trelles said the formation of the national team marks a key step toward integrating the issue into national systems in a sustainable and coordinated manner.
Meanwhile, the council's Reproductive Health and Gender Program Coordinator Juana Samawi gave an overview of key health issues affecting adolescent girls in school environments, along with proposals for integrating them into the National Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy.
Ward Btoush, a researcher in gender and reproductive health at the council, highlighted the need to form a working group of school health stakeholders and to measure progress indicators tied to the approved roadmap.
Ministry of Education Gender Section Head Khitam Malkawi addressed the integration of adolescent girls' health into the framework of the Education Strategic Plan, while Ministry of Health Shelters Department Head Tareq Damen reviewed how the issue is being incorporated into school health strategies and activities.
Consultant Kafa Akroush also presented an overview of the standard operating procedures for the gender-responsive school health task force.
At the end of the meeting, participants discussed and approved the next steps for launching the proposed initiatives. They agreed on the frequency of national team meetings, the start of institutional coordination to prepare scientific materials related to gender-responsive school health, the identification and addressing of gaps, and building on existing materials, evidence, and previous efforts to avoid duplication. They also stressed the national team's role in aligning indicators with the local cultural context.
//Petra// AO
