Jordan chairs Arab population, development council meeting on pandemic’s regional repercussions

AMMAN — Jordan on Wednesday chaired a virtual meeting of the Arab Council for Population and Development (ACPD) to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the people of Arab countries and the role of population councils in response plans.

Highlighting the challenges created by the pandemic, Secretary General of the ACPD in the Arab League Abla Ammawi said that there are high rates of chronic diseases in the Arab world in spite of the relatively young populations, which could increase mortality rates during the pandemic, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The spread of the coronavirus has shown the need for effective crisis and emergency management strategies and the importance of designating comprehensive frameworks for social protection, notably through health coverage, social security and unemployment compensation benefits.

Talks also touched on hypothetical scenarios for expected infections to provide insight into what might happen in the future and to assist in mitigating the potential impact of the pandemic, Petra added.