Published: January 17, 2013, 12:00 am
A nine-year project that was designed to promote healthy behaviors in Jordan celebrated its successful conclusion at a special closing event on January 14, 2013. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Jordan Health Communication Partnership (JHCP) [1] used innovative and groundbreaking health communication programs to encourage Jordanians to live healthier lives and plan for a healthy and successful future.
The JHCP Team
Keynote speakers at the end-of-project event included His Excellency, the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdellatif Woreikat, who recognized the value of this program to Jordan. “Our partnership with the Jordan Health Communication Partnership is a true partnership; practical and scientific and built on the local community’s needs in general and the Ministry of Health’s in particular in the areas of capacity building and media campaigns,” he noted. “We thank the Jordan Health Communication Partnership and truly appreciate all their efforts, and we are certain that the project’s goals and noble message will continue.”
USAID/Jordan Mission Director, Ms. Beth Paige, also praised the collaborative success of JHCP, saying “There can be no doubt that USAID projects like this one together with the Ministry of Health have made great progress over the years to improve the quality of health information and services.”
JHCP’s strong partnerships with local communities and key national bodies including the Ministry of Health, Higher Population Council, Ministry of Interior Local Development Directorate and Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places helped it reach and engage diverse audiences across Jordan with important messages on birth spacing, gender equity, the benefits of spousal communication and the importance of including men in the life-planning process. Among the project’s successful campaigns were Our Health, Our Responsibility [2], which promoted healthy lifestyle messages, and Hayati Ahla [2], which encouraged Jordanians to effectively plan for a healthy future.
The national Hayati Ahla campaign supported several other JHCP integrated programs, including Arab Women Speak Out [2], Health Competent Schools Initiative [2], 5-10-15 life planning tool [2], Ministry of Health’s http://www.sehetna.com/ website and Mabrouk [2] packages adopted by the Civil Status and Passports Department at the Ministry of Interior.
“In 26 years of managing health communication programs worldwide for the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Communication Programs (JHU∙CCP), I have never experienced such a wide-ranging program that reached people through so many channels and interventions,” said JHCP’s program director, Mr. Edson Whitney. “Through the strong support of USAID and the tremendous collaboration and vision of all the project’s national partners, we were able to implement an exciting and unique program that accomplished its goal of a healthier Jordan.”
While JHCP officially closes on January 31, 2013, USAID and the Government of Jordan have asked the project’s national partners and institutions to carry on its important work and ensure that the health and well-being of Jordanian families continue to improve through the use of innovative health communication programs.
View photos of the JHCP closing event [2].
Press coverage of the JHCP closing event:
Al Ra'i [2]
Ad Dustour [2]
Petra News [2]
Face Jordan [2]
Gulf Media [2]
Jordan Times [2]
Roya TV [2]
