The Secretary-General of the Higher Population Council / Chairman of the Steering Committee of Share-Net Jordan, Prof. Dr. Issa Al-Masarweh, and the Director of Studies and Policies Unit / Coordinator of Share-Net Jordan, Ali Al-Metleq, paid business visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt to discuss with the parties concerned with issues of sexual and reproductive health, and to expand the scope of work of Share-Net Jordan at the regional level in order to strengthen and expand Share-Net Jordan and Share-Net Global by increasing the membership base by actors in the field of sexual and reproductive health, strengthening communication between activists in the region working on sexual and reproductive health issues, and building strategic partnerships to exchange best practices and collect knowledge outcomes that inform the process of reforming policies and action programs.

During the visit, the Social Research Center at the American University in Cairo hosted an expanded meeting attended by eighteen experts and representatives of institutions working in the field of sexual and reproductive health in Egypt, in which the Director of the Center Dr. Huda Rashad gave brief on the Center's work related to the researches conducted by the Center. The Secretary-General of the Higher Population Council / Chairman of the Steering Committee of Share-Net Jordan also gave presentation on the goals and tasks of the Council as a reference for all population issues and information related to development, and its contribution to setting policies, strategies and action plans related to population and development according to best practices, following up and evaluating their implementation, gaining support and raising awareness about them while promoting national capabilities in this field in coordination with partners.

The Secretary-General also presented the demographic indicators related to sexual and reproductive health issues in Jordan and the similar conditions in the two countries, Jordan and Egypt. An extensive discussion took place on the similarities of these situations in the two countries and the common programs, topics and challenges. Then the Director of Studies and Policies Unit at the Higher Population Council / Coordinator of Share-Net Jordan gave an extensive presentation on the work of the knowledge platform for sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights in Jordan and the achievements of Share-Net Jordan since its establishment in 2016, and he addressed the objectives and mechanism for expanding the scope of work of Share-Net Jordan platform at the regional level . At the end of the meeting, the participants gave an introduction to their institutions, their achievements, difficulties and challenges they face, and their future aspirations. The participants expressed their intention to join the knowledge platform for reproductive and sexual health in its regional format and to provide it with all relevant knowledge materials they have.

On the second day of the visit, a lengthy meeting was held with Ms. Caroline Nassif from the Dutch Embassy in the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the objectives of the visit to expand the work of Share-Net Jordan at the regional level were reviewed. Also, the Embassy's past and current programs in the field of sexual and reproductive health with Egyptian partners, challenges and future aspirations were reviewed.

It is worth noting that the Higher Population Council hosts Share-Net Jordan, which works on strengthening the link between research results, policies and practices through knowledge generation, dissemination and promotion of its use in the processes of developing better policies and practices in the field of sexual and reproductive health. The Council is also the national focal point with the Share-Net International, which was established by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a knowledge base that combines the experiences of Dutch institutions, partners from southern countries, and international institutions working in the field of reproductive health, with the aim of strengthening the role of knowledge in building evidence-based policies and practices and ensuring that resources are used in a strategic manner.