The first of five clinics to provide health care to Iraqi refugees in Jordan was inaugurated on Wednesday, 8 August in Jabal Al-Taj, a poor neighbourhood in Amman where a large number of displaced Iraqis are currently living.
With support from the International Federation, the clinics will provide health, dental gynaecological and child care to thousands of Iraqis who have fled the violence in their country. “This is only the beginning,” said Dr. Mohammad Al-Hadid, president of the Jordan Red Crescent Society, who also chairs the Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. “The centre is only one of five that will be providing necessary health care to our Iraqi brothers, and to the local community.”
The clinic is staffed by two general practitioners, a dental surgeon, two nurses, a psychological advisor and several Red Crescent volunteers who will dispense care, free of charge. Patients who need specialised care will be transferred to the nearby Jordan Red Crescent hospital for further treatment.
The worsening security situation in Iraq has forced more than 750,000 Iraqis to take refuge in Jordan. Nearly 1.5 million have fled to neighbouring Syria, where the Syrian Red Crescent had been providing health, psycho-social and educational support to nearly 20,000 families.
Horror stories abound among many of the refugees fleeing direct threats to their lives by militiamen and the lack of security in their neighbourhoods.
To alleviate some of their suffering the International Federation has launched an emergency appeal for 18.2 million Swiss francs (15 million US$/11.1 million euro) for both Jordan and Syria, explained Marwan Jilani, head of the Federation’s Zone in the Middle East and North Africa. “The appeal will provide health, psycho-social support and non-food items to those who need it.”
The situation of Iraqi refugees in Jordan has come under scrutiny in the past few months as the two countries began talking about major pressures on their basic services and the need for assistance to support their existing infrastructure.
Two major conferences on the subject took place last month in Amman and Damascus. The first meeting was co-chaired by the Jordanian and Iraqi ministries of foreign affairs. Several donor countries, neighbouring countries and international humanitarian organizations participated. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement was represented by a delegation headed by Dr. Al-Hadid.
The second meeting, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) was convened in Damascus, Syria, to discuss how to improve access to health care for Iraqis who have sought refuge in Egypt, Jordan and Syria. It was attended by representatives of the ministries of health and of foreign affairs of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria, the Syrian Red Crescent, the International Federation, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), United Nations organizations and other international humanitarian actors.
According to WHO, the meeting agreed that “displaced Iraqis living in Egypt, Jordan and Syria should be eligible to receive health care on the same basis as the local population in these countries and that the UNHCR will continue to coordinate assistance to and the protection of all displaced Iraqis in host countries.”
Officials in the two countries have been pointing to several difficulties, in addition to rising strains on the health and educational systems, including pressures on their water distributions systems (Jordan is the fourth poorest country in water resources in the world), significant increases in the cost of living and housing and heightened security challenges.
Despite these pressures, the Ministry of Education in Jordan declared this week that children of Iraqi refugees residing illegally in Jordan will be allowed to attend Jordanian schools.
Already host to 1.5 million Palestinian refugees, the Iraqi influx represents an increase of 15 per cent of the country’s population of 5.2 million.
The Jordan Red Crescent clinics will be providing health care to all those who need it, Jordanians, Iraqis and others. “We estimate that at least 80 per cent of the clinic’s patients will be Iraqis,” said Dr. Al-Hadid at the opening of the clinic. “Red Crescent clinics will care for everyone, regardless of their nationality, in compliance with the Movement’s fundamental principles and values.”
The inauguration ceremony for the new clinic was attended by officials from several partner organizations, including the Federation, ICRC, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and the Jordanian Ministry of Health.