Building up Jordan's first trauma centre

In the wake of the Iraqi war, almost 5 million Iraqis were displaced by violence. Jordan is one of the countries having received a large numbers of Iraqi refugees, estimated as high as 500.000. The refugee population influx presents a huge challenge for hosting governments to provide basic humanitarian services. In Jordan, an increased load on healthcare and indications of problems for Iraqis for having access to appropriate health care were reported.

According to health and trauma surveys just about one in five Iraqis is a victim of torture and/or violence. Psycho-social support is offered to Iraqi refugees by international organizations. However, there is no facility in Jordan providing specialised, inter-disciplinary rehabilitation services for victims of torture and organized violence.

This lack has now been recognised widely by UN agencies and international NGOs like the RCT prioritising mental health care and supporting the already well-established Institute for Family Health (IFH).

Securing access to appropriate health care
The Institute for Family Health (IFH), an organisation under the Noor Al Hussein Foundation, has been a model for family health care services. The institute initially focused on children with disabilities and services to address additional family health needs, with special emphasis on battered women. The IFH now wants to expand its services to meet the needs of victims of torture and organized violence.

RCT will start capacity building of IFH staff in the fields of physiotherapy, psychotherapy, management strategies, interdisciplinary rehabilitation, pharmacotherapy and medical assessment in January 2009. The training will be carried out by rehabilitation experts from RCT and funded by the government of Denmark. The involved people have strong hopes that the centre will become a regional model that fully adheres to international standards and protocols.