AMMAN — Minister of Social Development and Head of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Women’s Empowerment Wafaa Bani Mustafa on Sunday chaired a committee meeting to discuss the draft national policy for early childhood development and care.

 

Bani Mustafa stressed that the draft policy constitutes a national priority and a collective responsibility requiring unified and integrated efforts, noting that investing in human capital begins in the earliest years to enable individuals to contribute to nation-building and shape their future, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

 

Jordan’s long-standing commitment to early childhood development has been implemented through national plans, strategies, and programmes, culminating in the Economic Modernisation Vision, which places early childhood development among its top priorities under the "Leadership and Innovation" engine within the economic growth pillar, the minister highlighted.

 

She pointed out that the meeting followed the conclusion of national consultations on the draft policy, underlining that early childhood interventions directly shape learning capacity, health, social integration, and future productivity, as the initial years form the foundation for physical, mental, social, and emotional development.

 

The minister added that the Women’s Empowerment Strategy within the Economic Modernisation Vision seeks to expand childcare services to reinforce women’s economic empowerment.

 

The new policy, she noted, consolidates scattered national efforts into an integrated framework that addresses childhood holistically rather than through a single-sector approach.

 

Expressing appreciation to national institutions, partners, and experts, mainly the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA), Bani Mustafa said that a clear vision and policy are now established, requiring structured cross-sector collaboration to translate them into tangible services for children and families.

 

During the meeting, attended by several ministers, secretary-generals, officials, and representatives of partner institutions, NCFA Secretary-General Mohammad Miqdadi said that the policy was drafted under the council’s coordination in partnership with national institutions.

 

He noted that the policy aims to address childhood issues and enhance family environments within the Global Nurturing Care Framework adopted by the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, and the World Bank, focusing on nutrition, health, safety, and education from pregnancy through age five.

 

Miqdadi added that fostering such an environment enables parents to enter the workforce and boosts their economic participation, underscoring that investing in early childhood acts as a direct catalyst for the national economy.

 

The plan features 10 sectoral targets based on national data analysis, outlining strategic solutions to demonstrate the economic and developmental returns of addressing these key priorities.