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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) started construction on a new health centre in Zohour area within the Jordanian capital Amman. The health centre will be constructed and equipped from generous donations received from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).

The actual construction activities started late in July 2019and the health centre is expected to be functional by August 2020 and will improve access to health care for over 68,000 Palestine refugees in the area. The new health center will replace the existing, congested rented premises and will introduce the Family Health Team (FHT) - the Agency’s new approach to health care delivery.

The new health centre will be built in accordance with UNRWA standards to deliver efficient and reliable health services for all members of the community, within the context of the FHT approach, as well as introducing necessary software and required capacity to facilitate the roll-out and implementation of both the new e-health system to replace paper medical records with electronic patient files, as well as a queue and appointment system. This should allow for more comprehensive health delivery coverage and for an expansion of the Agency’s health reform more broadly.

The UNRWA Director of Operations in Jordan, Mohammed Adar, expressed the Agency’s appreciation for the generous contribution it received from the Saudi Fund for Development stating that, “We are very grateful to SFD and the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for this generous contribution which will ensure provision of high quality healthcare services to Palestine refugees in Jordan.”

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

UNRWA is confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the UNRWA programme budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall. UNRWA encourages all Member States to work collectively to exert all possible efforts to fully fund the Agency’s programme budget. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals.

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.4 million Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA across its five fields of operation. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.

For more information, please contact:

Sami Mshasha
Director of Communications, Arabic Language Spokesperson
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 216 8295
Office:
+972 (0)258 90724

Tamara Alrifai
UNRWA Spokesperson
Mobile:
+962 (0)79 090 0140