02 December 2020

2 December 2020 – With the generous support of the European Union Trust Fund Health Emergency Project, the World Health Organization has contributed to increasing COVID-19 testing capacity of the Central Public Health Laboratory of the Ministry of Health of Jordan with a donation of a fully automated analyzer COBAS 6800 that runs around 1300 COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in 24 hours. COBAS 6800 represents a fully automated system that consolidates, integrates and standardizes the pre-analytical process to streamline laboratory operations. The principle is based on fully automated sample...

08 October 2020

8 October 2020 – On 5 October 2020, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, and Dr Maria Cristina Profili, WHO Representative in Jordan, opened the COVID-19 clinical management online training course, together with Dr Ghazi Sharkas, Director of the Primary Health Care Administration, on behalf of H.E the Minister of Health, and Professor Nathir Obeidat, University of Jordan, the main coordinator of the online training with the Ministry of Health and WHO. The training course is designed for Jordan’s frontline clinicians and nurses managing COVID-19 cases in...

30 September 2020

30 September 2020, Amman – Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Jordan, constituting 78% of the total deaths, being mainly cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. At the end of 2019, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Center for Strategic Studies of the University of Jordan, conducted a national STEPwise survey (STEPs), with the technical support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and generous financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This survey is especially important during the current...

06 July 2020

6 July 2020 – The Ministry of Health of Jordan, in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO), has conducted a series of training workshops to build the capacity of health workers at points of entry to scale up Jordan’s preparedness and response operations for COVID-19. Over the course of 10 days, more than 120 participants from 7 points of entry were trained on active case-finding through use of electronic surveillance tools to report COVID-19 suspected cases. Android tablets provided to all participants during training were used by teams in the field during contact...

09 July 2019

8 July 2019, Amman – High-level political dialogue was held under the patronage of His Excellency the Prime Minister of Jordan Dr Omar Al-Razzaz, on the findings of an international study on the economic investment case of tobacco control in Jordan. The study is the first systematic and robust analysis of the combined health and economic burden of tobacco use in Jordan, providing estimates on the potential health benefits and economic gains from the effective implementation of tobacco control measures. These measures are envisaged under the World Health Organization Framework Convention...

03 February 2019

4 February 2019 – Each year on 4 February, World Cancer Day is celebrated as an opportunity to commemorate, raise awareness and rally everyone – governments, civil society, individuals and the international community – to end the injustice of preventable suffering from cancer. Organized by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), a nongovernmental organization partner with the World Health Organization, the year 2019 marks the launch of the new ‘I Am and I Will’ campaign. This 3-year campaign is a global call to action to empower everyone to take on...

20 January 2019

20 January 2019 – Under the patronage of H.E. the Prime Minister Dr Omar Al-Razzaz, the Ministry of Health of Jordan, conducted a consultative meeting with a wide range of stakeholders to agree on pragmatic steps towards achieving universal health coverage in Jordan, in collaboration with the WHO country office in Jordan. H.E. the Prime Minister expressed the Government's commitment to achieiving universal health coverage and health development. “There is the political will to reach universal health coverage as one of the government's top priorities, based on the instructions of His Majesty King Abdullah, who seeks to provide just, comprehensive and sustainable...

29 November 2018

Amman, 29 November 2018 – WHO, UN staff, and health partners in Jordan gathered today at the WHO Hub in Amman to show their support for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence Campaign and this year’s Orange the World: #HearMeToo campaign. Everyone showed their support by posting their pledges on the Orange the World board, taking selfies in a special photo frame and then sharing them on social media. Recent WHO data reveals that the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region has the second highest prevalence of violence against women in...

20 September 2018

20 September 2018 – Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is widely recognized by global leaders, technical experts and policy-makers as one of the most challenging global problems of the 21st century. Initial findings published in WHO’s “Antimicrobial resistance: global report on surveillance” in 2014 raised international concern on widespread resistance that has subsequently been confirmed by data provided by 22 countries in the first Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS) report in 2018. Since 2015, AMR has gained significant high-level attention in Jordan, underpinned by external advocacy by international partners. Several achievements have been...

29 July 2018

29 July 2018 –  Dr Naoko Yamamoto, Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Universal Health Coverage, visited Jordan to gain an overview on the health system in the country. Dr Yamamoto is keen that the scope of work on universal health coverage in all countries addresses the health needs of vulnerable populations, refugees and migrants in order to ensure that no one is left behind.  Dr Yamamoto met with H.E Dr Mahmoud Alsheyyab, Minister of Health, to discuss major issues facing the Jordanian health system. H.E explained to Dr Yamamoto the need...

19 June 2018

19 June 2018 – Every year, on 31 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners mark World No Tobacco Day, highlighting the health and other risks associated with tobacco use, and advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. This year, World No Tobacco Day focuses on tobacco and heart disease. The campaign’s slogan is “Tobacco breaks hearts. Choose health, not tobacco”. To mark this occasion, the Ministry of Health organized an awareness-raising event that took place at one of Amman’s popular malls (Mecca Mall) on Thursday 31 May. This event...

13 February 2018

Amman, Jordan 13 February 2018 – The Ministry of Health and key partners carried out a one day SIMEX exercise at the Ministry’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, under the guidance of the Crisis Management Unit, to assess the Ministry’s Emergency Response Plan and associated Standard Operating Procedures responding to health emergencies. His Excellency Minister of Health Dr Mahmoud Al-Sheyyab said that this exercise is very important as it provides an opportunity to test and evaluate the readiness of the ministry and the authorities concerned to ensure better efficiency and effectiveness...