Our Work in Jordan
Occupying land along historical crossroads of the Middle East, Jordan has at one time or another been part of the Greek, Roman, Islamic and Ottoman Empires. It was plundered by Mongols and Christian crusaders, then, following World War I, carved up and presented to Britain as part of the British Mandate. After gaining its independence after World War II, Jordan became the de facto home for the waves of Palestinians who left their homelands after Israel was established in 1948. But after three wars with Israel, in the mid-1990s, Jordan became only the second Arab country (after Egypt) to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish state. Today, Jordan is home to several hundred thousand refugees from another neighboring country—Iraq.
As a stable constitutional monarchy with one of the best health care systems in the Middle East, it was inevitable that Jordan would end up hosting a sizable share of Iraqi refugees who fled the violence at home during the middle years of the decade. International Medical Corps today is one of the few private sector humanitarian groups operating both inside Iraq and in those neighboring countries with the largest refugee populations. Working with a local partner organization, we provide both refugees and vulnerable local populations with primary health care services and mental health care and psychosocial support. We gained valuable experience assisting large concentrations of urban refugees in an early childhood development program that has helped us better understand and meet the unique needs of refugees living in large cities. We also operate a continuing medical education program (CME) for both Jordanian and Iraqi physicians.