Having fled from Jenin, Ahmed’s family sought refuge in Jordan in 1952. Two years later, Ahmed was born in tent in Irbid camp in Northern Jordan. “I received my first vaccination shot from an UNRWA health centre,” says Ahmed, who still lives in Irbid camp with his wife and six children. Ahmed recalls how UNRWA education, health and relief and social services have supported his family over the years. “I remember how UNRWA health centres transitioned from tents to zinc roofs and now to this new magnificent Irbid health center,” he chuckles.
The reconstruction of the UNRWA health centre in Irbid camp was funded in 2011 as part of US$ 2 million contribution from the United States government. The project merged two previous health centres into one facility, fully furnished and equipped with modern equipment to provide outpatient medical services, non-communicable diseases care, laboratory services, a mother and child healthcare unit, a child health unit and school health activities. The building is fully accessible to people with disabilities and provides waiting and consultation rooms that give patients a pleasant and dignified experience.
“The bathrooms are clean and not located outside the building as they were before the reconstruction of the health centre,” says Sara, Ahmed’s wife. “The waiting rooms are comfortable and with the new appointments system, I know how many people are ahead of me so I can estimate waiting times.” Sara explains how she can now make her children’s vaccination appointments over the phone, so she only has to visit the health centre for the appointments. “I find my medical file already taken out – not like in the past when I had to wait for the nurse to look for the file from a big pile,” Sara adds. The new facility has been constructed to accommodate UNRWA health reforms such as the Family Health Team Approach, E-health and a new appointments system.
With support from donors such as the United States government, UNRWA is optimizing its available resources to deliver more health and wellness services to the growing numbers of Palestine refugees in Jordan. In order to replicate its success in Irbid, UNRWA is looking for donors to support the implementation of similar health centre mergers.