As a stable constitutional monarchy with one of the best health care systems in the Middle East, it was inevitable that Jordan would end up hosting a large share of Iraqi refugees who fled the violence at home during the middle years of the decade.UNHCR estimates that more than 450,000 refugees remain in Jordan, many of whom are isolated, vulnerable and living in poverty.
International Medical Corps today is one of the few humanitarian groups operating both inside Iraq and in those neighboring countries with the largest refugee populations. Working with a local partner organisation, we provide both refugees and vulnerable local populations with primary health care services and mental health care and psychosocial support. Our experience working with Iraqi refugees across the Middle East means we are able to better understand and meet the unique needs of refugees living in large cities. We also operate a continuing medical education programme (CME) for both Jordanian and Iraqi physicians.
International Medical Corps partners with a local medical NGO, Jordan Health Aid Society (JHAS), to provide comprehensive primary health care both to refugees and vulnerable local populations. With the majority of refugees coming from urban middle class environments in Iraq into urban neighborhoods of Amman and other large cities, their medical needs tend to mirror those of the broader population compared with a typical refugee camp population. We support JHAS clinics in Amman, and the country’s second and third largest cities of Irbid and Zarqa and also operate a mobile medical unit (MMU) that conducts home visits to families in all three cities. Our work includes preventive care, including routine checkups, health education and child growth monitoring; obstetrics, gynaecology, and pediatric care, plus internal medicine, dentistry, ophthalmology and basic laboratory services.Case managers, supervised by certified psychologists, assess mental health and psychosocial cases and develop a case management plan that draws on general practitioners and psychologists from our local partner NGO, the Jordan Health Aid Society (JHAS), as well as government and other locally available NGO resources. In addition, we offer our own 13 –week training course for public and private-sector general practitioners to enhance their ability to identify, manage and refer mental health conditions for more specialised treatment.
In 2009, we established a community centre in Zarqa, an industrial city southeast of Amman that is one of Jordan’s largest and poorest urban areas. It is designed as a safe place where families and young people can gather to celebrate and promote family values through the integration of social services, health care and recreation. The centre is located between our primary health clinic and a neighborhood mosque.
