The 'Hayate Ahla' weekly segment on the 'Yawm Jadeed' show on Jordan Television

As part of their goals to improve the health of Jordanians and increase their lifespan, via a program of adequate healthcare, Jordan Health Communication Partnership (JHCP) with the support of Johns Hopkins University and its project 'Our Health is Our Responsibility', in cooperation with Dr. Khaldoun al Sharif, consultant obstetrician - gynecologist and fertility specialist, held a press conference to announce the new health segment titled "Hayate Ahla" every Sunday morning in "Yawm Jadeed " show on Jordan TV .

The press conference was held on the 22nd of August at the Four Seasons hotel. Among those present were H.E. Dr. Zuhair Kayed, Secretary General of Higher Population Council; Dr. Adel Bilbeisi, Assistant Secretary General from Ministry of Health; Dr. Suleiman Farah, Chief of Party of Jordan Health Communication Partnership; and a number of representatives from the healthcare field and press institutions.

The aim of the press conference was to highlight the most important terms of the joint cooperation agreement between the Jordan Health Communication Partnership and Dr. Khaldoun al Sharif, which includes broadcasting the 'Hayate Ahla' segment every Sunday morning on the 'Yawm Jadeed' morning program on Jordan Television, in cooperation with the Higher Population Council, Ministry of Health, and funding from USAID. This segment focuses on raising necessary awareness about reproductive health.

H.E. Dr. Zuhair Kayed, Secretary General of Higher Population Council said, 'The strategic national plan for population focuses on reproductive health with emphasis on the health of youth and teenagers in Jordan which form the vast majority of the population. We, in turn, hold the main responsibility for directing them to plan for a promising future."

Dr. Adel Bilbeisi, Assistant Secretary General for Primary Health Affairs, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, reiterated the importance of holding cooperation agreements and partnerships to launch awareness campaigns about all aspects of health and particularly reproductive health, and how necessary it is to increase the efforts of all sectors to encourage family planning which is considered to be one of the most basic tenets of social development. He added that it should be included within the general directions towards improving the standard of living.

Dr. Soliman Farah, Chief of Party of Jordan Health Communication Partnership, added, 'We place great importance on the youth segment which forms our main focus in order to build a productive, whole and modern society. We have taken special care to run many national campaigns targeting young people to help them build their future in a balanced, planned manner by providing them with the knowledge, skills and resources necessary to take care of their health and make it a priority, as good health cannot be separated from overall development process, which is linked to our human resources and is the most vital part of the process."

Dr. Khaldoun al Sharif, the Head of the Istishari Centre for Fertility, said, 'This joint cooperation with Jordan Health Communication Partnership is the fundamental step towards spreading necessary health awareness about healthy practices and reproductive health. We will be increasing our efforts to cooperate with Jordan Television by updating the 'Hayatee Ahla' segment on the 'Youm Gadeed' program to raise awareness among young people who are married or about to get married for early planning for the future based on the principles of family planning.'

The 'Hayate Ahla' segment on the 'Yawm Jadeed' program covers a variety of health topics in order to address all the needs of modern family life including pre-marital tests, spacing pregnancies, hormones, methods of family planning, pre-natal and post-natal care, child care, reproductive decisions, pregnancy nutrition and many other important topics.