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Ammon News - The Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) have launched a rapid assessment project aimed at identifying Jordan's health services provided for children and adolescents with developmental delays, disorders or disabilities, and their families.

The project will produce recommendations based on the identified gaps in consultation with stakeholders, to agree on new guidance in terms of feasibility and sustainability, a statement by the WHO said on Wednesday.

"A country expert has been assigned by the WHO for the assessment process, during which a report will be prepared covering health services availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality in the public and non-profit sectors," the statement added, indicating that the services covered include early screening and intervention, as well as pathways to care according to type of disorder and age group, in cooperation with the ministry's disabilities and mental health directorate.

The assessment comes simultaneously with the WHO's Caregiver Skills Training (CST) program for children and adolescents with developmental delays, disabilities, and disorders, supported by the Bernard van Leer Foundation.

The program focuses on helping caregivers to develop their children's communication and adaptive skills while reducing challenging behavior by focusing on identifying the function of the behavior and learning to teach developmentally appropriate replacement skills.

The aforementioned projects are aligned with the National Mental Health and Substance Use Action Plan (2018-2021), with the Regional Framework to Scale Up Action on Mental Health (2022-2026).

(Petra)