Jordan Times
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
'KHIBC to place Jordan on world map of research’
By Mohammad Ghazal
NAOUR - His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday laid the foundation stone for the
approximately $200 million King Hussein Institute for Biotechnology and Cancer (KHIBC).
The cancer care and research facility seeks to provide state-of-the-art medical
services for cancer patients and bolster cancer-focused biotechnology studies.
Her Majesty Queen Rania was present at the ceremony, which took place at the
site of the facility in the town of Naour, some 17 kilometres southwest of
Amman.
The institute will be constructed over 680 dunums, to include a hospital,
clinics and specialised scientific laboratories for research on cancer and
biotechnology supplied with advanced equipment and devices, KHIBC Director
General Samir Khleif said at the ceremony yesterday.
Khleif said the facility will provide all kinds of services for cancer patients
at the hands of highly qualified specialists.
The centre will also include a house for elderly cancer patients and
entertainment facilities which meet the needs of patients of all ages, he said.
Other facilities include a conference hall, a training section and hotels for
children and adults to host family members of patients who accompany their
relatives on their treatment journey, in addition to playgrounds.
The KHIBC is expected to attract patients from the region, the officials in
charge of the institute said.
The project will be completely financed through donations and contributions from
international institutions concerned with scientific research on cancer,
according to Khleif.
In his address at the ceremony, Faisal Fayez, chairman of board of trustees of
King Abdullah Fund for Development which oversees the project, noted the
initiative to create the centre was coordinated with the US National Cancer
Institute.
"The centre seeks to... turn the Kingdom into an advanced therapeutic,
scientific and educational hub," Fayez said.
The institute will serve as a nonprofit organisation that will be run by a board
of trustees who have already been selected “in accordance with clear and
transparent criteria”, Fayez emphasised.
The KHIBC will help attract Jordanian doctors and scientists working abroad and
create hundreds of jobs, the director said.
Khleif added that the centre’s core staff are already cooperating with several
international peers to draw up working strategies, noting that the institute has
offered grants for Jordanian PhD holders to receive training in renowned cancer
research centres in the US.
Stressing the importance of the KHIBC in placing Jordan on the world map of
advanced cancer and biotechnology research, visiting US Deputy Secretary of
Health and Human Services Tevi Troy said: "The facility serves as a beacon for
people from all over who suffer from cancer."
"Building on His Majesty's and our shared vision of public-private partnerships,
we seek to improve health and well-being at three key levels: the individual
level, the private sector/nonprofit level like the cancer institute, and the
public sector level," the US official added.