Jordan ranks 51st in world for child safety — report

AMMAN — One in every four children around the world are being denied a childhood, a recent report by Save the Children found. 

Launched recently, the “Stolen Childhoods”  report found that at least 700 million children — and possibly hundreds of millions more — were deprived of a decent childhood, a statement by Save the Children said.

Assessing where childhood is most and least threatened, the report ranked Jordan 51st out of 172 countries globally, and 8th out of 14 in the Middle Eastern and North African region.

The global index included criteria such as extreme violence and conflict; early marriage and pregnancy; child labour, poor health and inability to attend school, the report indicated.

Despite some positive progress in getting more children into education and reducing the prevalence of child labour in Jordan, many children are still not getting the childhood they deserve, the report showed. 

An estimated 165,000 children are still out of school, including 76,000 Jordanians and 91,000 Syrian refugees. For those who attend school, facilities are often makeshift and under-equipped, according to the report.  

Rania Malki, CEO of Save the Children Jordan said: “Jordan is rich in potential and could be much higher in this list. But to fulfil that potential we must invest more in education and ensuring that our children get the childhoods they deserve.” 

Noting the challenges the country still faces in preserving children’s safety, she added: “Too many children are still out of school, having to work to make ends meet, or getting married off early — being robbed of everything that makes them children. It is unacceptable that in 2017, millions of children around the world still do not have their right to be safe, learn, grow and play.”

Citing the Sustainable Development Goals which defined education for all and child safety as a major objective, Malki said: “In 2015, the world made a promise that by 2030, all children would be in school, protected, and healthy, regardless of who they are, and where they live. Although this is an ambitious target, it’s within reach if governments invest in all children to guarantee they have the full childhood they deserve.” 

The report classified children into three distinct groups: children aged 0-17 who have died (159 million), children aged 0-5 who are stunted (186 million) and children 6-17 who are out of primary or secondary school (263 million). 

It also included a subset of child refugees and internally displaced children (14 million) and a subset of child labourers (112 million) who are not likely to be already accounted for in the other groups, the statement said.