Supporting Healthy Community Clinics
in Jordan to improve services and
raise awareness of non-communicable
diseases (NCDs)

The problem is more acute in developing countries, where it is estimated that seven of every 10 deaths will be attributable to NCDs by 2020^[1]. In Jordan, for example, NCDs accounted for 78% of disease-related deaths in 2016 and cost the country $840 million^[2].

^[1] “The burden of non-communicable diseases in developing countries” Boutayeb, Abdesslam & Boutayeb, Saber. International Journal for Equity in Health 2005 4:2; DOI: 10.1186/1475-9276-4-2; http://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-9276-4-2

^[2] World Health Organization, Jordan: Risk of Premature Death due to NCDs (%), 2016 http://www.who.int/nmh/countries/jor_en.pdf

Tackling NCDs in Jordan through Healthy Community Clinics

In 2014, we extended our collaboration with our longstanding partners, the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS) and the Jordanian Ministry of Health to support their goal to establish 20 Healthy Community Clinics (HCCs) around the country. HCCs are part of a nationwide, community-based programme established in 2011 by RHAS and the Ministry of Health.

HCCs and the Sustainable Development Goals

The goal of the HCCs is improving services and awareness related to the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This links directly to SDG target 3.4 which aims to reduce premature deaths from NCDs by one-third.

HCCs offer medical practitioners the resources and training necessary to raise patient and community awareness of the risks of NCDs and options for disease prevention. They also offer preventative services at the primary-care level, particularly targeting underserved communities.

We support HCCs with financial assistance, equipment and training and development for healthcare professionals.

The impact of our support for two HCCs (Sahab Clinic and Wadi Al Seer Clinic) between 2014 and 2017 is shown below.