Our decade-long work in Jordan covered field epidemiology, control and prevention of zoonotic diseases, research, routine immunization, refugee health, and public health education. 

Through this successful partnership, we supported the Jordan Field Epidemiology Training Program by building the capacity of its residents in various areas of public health, facilitating research and learning opportunities for residents and graduates. In 2017, we also worked with the MOH in launching the basic FETP modality, the Public Health Empowerment Program-Basic Field Epidemiology (PHEP-BFE), a three-month, in-service training program that contributes to addressing shortages of public health professionals qualified in the fundamentals of disease surveillance and outbreak investigation.

Since 2016, we have been working closely with the MOH and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in encouraging the One Health Approach to prevent and control infectious diseases in Jordan. In 2016, with our support, the MOH and MOA launched a project to strengthen brucellosis surveillance, diagnosis, and control in Mafraq, Jordan, a country that is endemic to the disease. In 2018, this project was expanded to include more areas in the country.

By also promoting the One Health Approach, we collaborated with the MOH and MOA to strengthen diagnostic capacities for Anthrax, a disease that could threaten human and animal health. This collaboration was a step toward meeting global health security standards and increasing biosecurity and biosafety awareness among Jordanian surveillance and laboratory staff.

In 2016, we worked closely with the MOH in creating the National Biorisk Management Guidelines which serve as a framework for implementing biosafety and biosecurity measures with the aim of reducing the risks of health hazards associated with laboratory work in different sectors: human and animal health, agriculture, scientific research, and the biochemical industry.

With our support, the MOH launched the National Rapid Response Teams Booklet in 2017. As the first national and regional reference for Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), the booklet addresses the country’s need to enhance preparedness and response in the event of public health events of international concern (PHEIC). The booklet also meets the pressing need for effective and comprehensive preparedness measures to face current health emergencies affecting the region.

Since our establishment, we have collaborated with the MOH and stakeholders on research documents covering obesity, infectious diseases, diabetes, and more. In Jordan, we are also supporting several operational research-based projects related to child and maternal health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and reproductive health. 

In collaboration with the International Development Research Council (IDRC) of Canada, we are also working the MOH on an operational research project to establish a harmonized Reproductive Health Registry (hRHR) to make personalized information throughout pregnancy and childbirth to be easily accessed during antenatal visits, labor, delivery, and postnatal visits. Initially, the hRHR was implemented in Al Mafraq Governorate in seven health centers.

Also with support of the IDRC, we are implementing another project in collaboration with the American University of Beirut to encourage the adoption of quality family planning (FP) services among vulnerable host communities and Syrian refugees living in Lebanon and Jordan. The project aims to develop and evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of an intervention aimed to encourage contraceptive use through high-quality, effective couples counseling and the use of digital technologies. 

In 2018, we implemented the SEEK Trial project, an operational research study of the effect of increased self-efficacy and knowledge on the improved use of sexual and reproductive health services  among adolescent girls and young women within refugee communities in Jordan. Supported by the World Health Organization and guided by the principles of community-based participatory research, this project seeks to develop, translate, and locally adapt a low intensity psychosocial intervention for the target group and focuses on expanding the target group’s SRH knowledge. The project is also being implemented in two other countries: by the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and Ankara University in Turkey. 

In 2019, we collaborated with UNICEF to improve access to quality Primary Healthcare (PHC) Services for vulnerable populations in Irbid and Mafraq. Through this collaboration, we implemented the Family and Community Medicine Team (FCMT), an innovative approach creates a partnership between PHC physicians with community health service providers toward provision of outreach, prevention, and health education and promotion to vulnerable communities.

During 2016, we worked at the Zaatari and Azraq camps to improve health outcomes for refugees, assisting in the health response to the Syrian refugee crisis. We contributed vaccination campaigns, trained health staff, and conducted health promotion activities. In addition, we supported the MOH, the Ministry of Education, and UNICEF in strengthening management systems for scaling up integrated school health (ISH) in public schools and Makani informal education centers in Syrian Refugee Camps in the country. Since 2017, we have been assisting UNHCR in conducting the neonatal mortality audits in refugee camps in Jordan: Zaatari and Azraq . 

In an inter-country collaboration, EMPHNET is building the capacity of laboratory technicians on “low effort” toxins detection, safe handling, control, disruption, and attribution, especially Abrin, Ricin, and Botulinum. EMPHNET developed and customized toxin handling SOPs. These SOPs are available in the Arabic and French languages to ensure that the SOPs are fully comprehended and are useful for Moroccan and Jordanian participants. In addition, material support was provided to complement the proper practice of these SOPs. EMPHNET procured supplies, needed test kits, and deep freezers to be provided for the targeted laboratories in Morocco and Jordan. It provided a rapid testing method for biological toxins and distributed a set of reagents and kits (Tetracore Toxin Bio-Threat Alert) to the labs.  

EMPHNET worked with CRDF global to implement an inventory management tool of high consequence
pathogens. The tool provides a foundation for inventory management systems for dangerous biological
pathogens and dual use materials and equipment in Jordan. For now, the collaboration developed a software,
and procured the needed hardware, for inventory management for dangerous pathogens for four laboratories
from the public and animal health sectors: CPHL, BSL3/MOH, CVL/MOA, and the Biosafety and Bio-Security
Center/Royal scientific society.

In two highly populated governorates that also house Syrian refugees, Irbid and Mafraq, we worked the MOH and other stakeholders to build an enabling environment for salt intake reduction within host and refugee communities. Based on a KAP study focused on the targeted governorates, largescale awareness sessions were conducted for 15 schools along with the
provision of health promotion material.

Using the innovations of the Family Health Teams (FHTs) approach[1], EMPHNET and the ministry of health are working to improve access to quality Primary Health Care (PHC) services and to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on health for the vulnerable populations including refugees. Based on research, a health reforms package was developed that included the framework, strategies, tools, materials, and necessary arrangements to introduce the FHT approach and improve and modernize the PHC services into a comprehensive, efficient, people-centered primary care system.

[1] The FHT is an innovative approach that creates a partnership between physicians at the PHC, family medicine physicians, nurses, community health workers, and other health service providers to coordinate the highest possible quality of care for patients.

In 2022, EMPHNET joined forces with the USCDC and Vital Strategies in a regional campaign Against Tobacco and COVID-19 to raise awareness of the harms of smoking, especially during the pandemic. Together, these entities worked with MoHs, NGOs, and academic institutes in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine by developing and disseminating country-tailored and culturally appropriate mass media messages to educate about the harms of tobacco and promote smoking cessation. In Jordan, 3 million people were reached and there the impact has been documented in terms of awareness and advocacy. 

In Jordan, EMPHNET supported the use of Staged Development Tool (SDT) to develop the NCD Capacity Assessment and Planning (N-CAP) Process. SDT, the Staged Development Tool has been devised by the USCDC and the International Association of Public Health Institutes to assist national public health institutes (NPHIs) in improving public health functions and internal operations. Using the SDT, stakeholders rely on discussion guides to define their current state, identify gaps, and picture the ideal state they would like to actualize. The output of SDT planning is a roadmap to build capacity and increase impact in areas NPHIs consider a priority.

EMPHNET, in collaboration with the MOH, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Ministry of Education (MoE), conducted a cross-sectional nationally representative survey of mental health and psychosocial problems among children and adolescents in Jordan. The study examined the prevalence of common mental disorders in children and adolescents, including depression, anxiety, developmental disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), along with their associated factors. Based on the alarming prevalence of these disorders, several recommendations were made. Mainly, the study called for the adoption of integrated and coordinated plans and programs to intervene in multiple areas that affect the mental health of children and adolescents and to ensure their compatibility with the prevailing culture. Involved parties encouraged to adopt these plans and programs are schools and educational personnel, mental health service providers, and the larger community, including religious figures, parents, and mass media.

In collaboration with Resolve to Save Lives, with support from LINKS: A global Community for Cardiovascular Health, we joined the MOH in launching and evaluating a blood pressure control program in twenty-three primary health care centers in Jordan. There, WHO’s HEARTS technical package to improve the management and control of hypertension was adapted, implemented, and evaluated in two governorates with high population densities located in the North of Jordan.

In on of our earliest collaborations with the MOH, we implemented the Ajloun Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Project within the governorate of Ajloun. The project that was implemented between 2013-2015 was designed to respond to the need to explore scalable community-based models that tackle the rising burden of NCDs in Jordan.

We have also been an active member in Jordan NCD Alliance (JNCDA) since 2017.

We continue to support the country in outbreak prevention, early detection, and response by providing coordination as well as technical and logistical support in contact tracing and field outbreak investigation. As a member, we are actively participating in the national and sub national committees contributing to the decision-making process.

In early 2019, we renewed its partnership with the MOH to grow its work in Jordan towards contributing to improved health outcomes across the country.