Prepared by: Dr. Musa Ajlouni January, 2010 - World Health ...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYIntroductionJordan is a low-middle income country with limited natural resources, and thus humanresources development has been made as one of the most valuable assets and strategicpillars of the country.This HRH Jordan profile is part of a collaborative work of WHO’s Regional Office for theEastern Mediterranean, through its Division of Health Systems and ServicesDevelopment.The purpose of the HRH Jordan profile is to serve as a tool for: providing acomprehensive picture of the Health Workforce situation in Jordan; presenting the HRHpolicies and management situation; strengthening the human resources informationsystem in Jordan by establishing evidence for baselines and trends; facilitatinginformation sharing and cross-country comparisons; and contributing towards producingregional HRH profiles.This is a cross –sectional study that adopted a descriptive and analytical methodology.Data was compiled from available reports, studies and statistics related to HRH for publicand private health sector stakeholders. Personal and telephone interviews and fieldstudies were conducted with identified representatives from different stakeholders to fillin the HRH information gaps.Since Jordan HRH Observatory is still in its infancy stage, some data mainly related togender, age and geographical distribution were not available or not complete. Fewestimations by well experienced professionals who are very well familiar with the relevantprofession were done to fill such gaps. These estimations were validated by peers fromthe same profession.1. Country InterviewJordan is a low-middle income small country with limited natural resources and semi-aridclimate. Jordan population at the end year 2008 was (5850000). The declining mortalityrate and the high total fertility rate (3.6) have contributed to overall population growth thataveraged 2.2%. The annual income per capita at current prices was US$ 3425 in 2008.Proportion of budget spent on MOH was 7.4% for 2008.Executive authority is vested in the king and his council of ministers. Legislative powerrests in the bicameral National Assembly (Chamber of Deputies and Chamber ofSenates).Jordan’s performance is among the better Arab states in terms of life expectancy, adultliteracy, school enrolment, female literacy, and according to other basic indicators.Jordan's ranking improved substantially in the Global Competitiveness Index and was49/131 in 2006.The Government of Jordan has identified poverty, unemployment and high populationgrowth its most important challenges. Jordan’s main development challenges can besummarized in three cross-sectoral objectives: (i) achieving high growth to reduce andJordan HRH Profile,Musa Ajlouni (Jan 2010) 5