Overview

Jordan’s health care system is improved dramatically over the last two decades, placing it among the top ten countries of the world in reducing infant mortality. In achieving universal child immunization by 1988, Jordan surpassed the average rate of the rest of the world by two years.Jordan enjoys a sound, well-structured health system, one of the most efficient in the region.

General Indicators

Jordan’s population is increasing at an annual rate of 3.4%; Jordanian women have a relatively high fertility rate of 5.2 and a declining infant mortality rate of 35 per 1000.Life expectancy is higher in Jordan than in most developing countries, averaging 64 and 68 years for men and women, respectively.

Basic Health Services

The main provider of health services in Jordan is the public sector, complemented by the private sector, international and charitable organizations such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), non-government organizations (NGOs), and other charitable societies.

Local and international agencies which offer free medical services include UNRWA, charitable societies under the umbrella of the General Union of Voluntary Societies (GUVS), the Zakat Fund (Islamic alms giving) and foreign community centers administered with assistance from international groups such as Caritas and Radda Barnen (Swedish Save the Children).

Health Personnel

Jordan’s health needs are met by a high ratio of medical personnel per capita. For every 10,000 Jordanians, there are 28 doctors, 10 nurses and certified midwives, 7 dentists, 9 pharmacists and 16 hospital bedsJordan’s only real health personnel shortage is in trained local nurses. The government is establishing new nursing colleges and encouraging students to specialize in this field by offering incentives for trained nurses and giving priority in employment for both male and female Jordanian nurses.Sixty-nine percent of Jordanians receive free health care, due to their status as public sector employees or their dependents.

Care for the Handicapped

Current statistics indicate that about 5% of the population, or approximately 200,000 Jordanians, suffer some sort of physical or mental disability. Fifty-eight private and public centers throughout the country care for and rehabilitate the handicapped. More centers and services are foreseen in the future.

Social Welfare

Jordan has traditionally been a family-oriented society in which people always managed to take care of their own, even if that meant stretching their resources to the limit. Extended families used to be the norm; most households usually comprised the immediate family, plus a few elder male and female relatives.

Health and Education: A Focus on People

Because of its modest natural resources, Jordan has focused on developing its human potential. Turning necessity into virtue, the Kingdom has bolstered its economic and social viability by advancing the well-being of its citizens. Jordan has long concentrated on improving its educational and health standards, thereby strengthening a rising tide which lifts not only the Jordanian economy – due to a skilled and healthy labor force – but also the general quality of life for all citizens of the Kingdom.His Majesty King Abdullah II stressed the need to focus on socioeconomic reform. His Majesty has to concentrate on, "revising our educational system, controlling population growth and improving public services." King Abdullah also called upon the private sector to assist in the national effort to improve Jordan’s economic and social institution.The Demographic Challenge

To appreciate the extent of the challenge Jordan faces in improving the lives of its people, one must examine the country’s difficult demographic circumstances. Jordan’s 1997 population reached 4.6 million, a figure twice that of only 1981, and by the year 2012 Jordan’s population is expected to double. The high natural population growth rate can be attributed to relatively sudden advances in extending life expectancy and reducing infant mortality, combined with a slower reduction of high fertility rates. To stem the rapid growth rate, Jordan has introduced birth-spacing programs on a national level. The result has been a growing awareness among Jordanians of the benefits of family planning, and figures indicate that a majority of Jordanian wives are now using contraceptives.Jordan’s population increase has also been fueled by periodic waves of refugees seeking shelter. Refugees from the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars account for a considerable part of Jordan’s population, and altogether there are about one million registered Palestinian refugees in Jordan. The Gulf Crisis brought a new wave to homeless people, as over one million third-country evacuees and around 300,000 Jordanians found refuge in Jordan. Besides the sudden added demand on the country’s services and infrastructure, the returnees have also exacerbated the domestic water shortage.A Healthy Population

Health conditions in Jordan are among the best in the Middle East. This is due in large part to the kingdom’s stability and to a range of effective development plans and projects which have included health as major component. Jordan has approached development from a holistic perspective, realizing that poverty, illiteracy and health form a triangle which must be addressed together. Advances in the struggle against poverty and illiteracy, in addition to the spread of sanitation, clean water, adequate nutrition and housing have combined to make for a healthier Jordanian citizenry.The main goal of Jordan’s health strategy has been to provide adequate health coverage to all. To best accomplish this, government policy has deftly encouraged geographical complementarity in services by encouraging private sector facilities in the urban areas for those able to afford higher costs, while concentrating public sector facilities in the relatively poorer non-urban areas. Like its policy of favoring spending on basic education over higher education, Jordan’s public health has concentrated on primary health care in all parts of the country, while leaving tertiary health care mostly to the private sector.Over the past two decades, Jordan’s basic health indicators have improved greatly. Life expectancy at birth now stands at 68 years, up from the 1986 figure of 64 years. In 1965, the average Jordanian could only expect to live to age 50. A contributing factor to the rising average lifespan has been the reduction in infant mortality rates. According to UNICEF statistics, between 1981 and 1991 Jordan achieved the world’s fastest annual rate of decline in infant mortality – from 70 deaths per 1000 births in 1981 to 37 per 1000 in 1991, a fall of over 47 percent. This figure fell even further in 1996 to only 32 deaths per 1000 births. Perhaps the clearest example of Jordan’s emphasis on primary health care is in the area of childhood immunization. In 1996, 98 percent of Jordanian children were fully immunized.The spread of adequate sanitation and potable water, improvements in dietary intake, accessibility to advanced and affordable health care, improved pre-natal care and childhood immunization programs are some of the primary factors which have combined to lower infant mortality rates and raise life expectancy. The success of Jordan’s health care system is therefore a major reason for the high natural growth rate of population growth. While average fertility levels have actually declined – from 7.3 percent in 1984 to 3.9 percent in 1998 – a higher childhood survival rate means more Jordanians entering marriageable age.Nutrition and Sanitation

The nutritional status of Jordanians has also improved vastly over the past 30 years. In 1961, the average Jordanian received a daily intake of 2198 calories. By 1992, the figure had reached 3031 calories, an increase of 37.8 percent.

Water and sanitation available to only 10 percent of the population in 1950 now reaches 99 percent of Jordanians. Electricity now also reaches 99 percent of the population, as compared to less than 10 percent in 1955.

The Balance Sheet

Comparative statistics demonstrate how strongly Jordan has stuck to its goal of human development. Balanced economic growth during the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s resulted in significant improvements in the average Jordanian’s quality of life. Although Jordan is not well-endowed with natural resources, it has compensated for this deficit by focusing on the human aspect of development. Through improvements in the quality of life for citizens, Jordan now has a labor force prepared for the demands of the twenty-first century.