Ammon News - The Ministry of Health and the Jordan office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) on Thursday launched a €22-million EU-funded project to combat and manage non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through primary healthcare services in the Mafraq, Ajloun and Tafileh governorates.

The "Care" project is based on analyzing the challenges faced by the government health system, improving the management of non-communicable diseases, and addressing the main causes of these diseases, such as tobacco use, obesity and sedentary lifestyles.

The project targets both Jordanians and Syrian refugees and it is funded by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis ,or the Madad Fund.

Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health for Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, Raed Al-Shboul, said the project aims to upgrade primary healthcare services, provide equipment, devices and systems, and build the capacity of health workers.

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain in Jordan, Aranzazu Banon Davalos, said that reducing mortality through prevention and treatment is a strategic area of cooperation, stressing that Spain, as a member of the European Union and supporter of Jordan in the health field, believes that working with the Jordanian government is the best way to move towards achieving development goals sustainable development, and addressing the effects of the Syrian crisis by strengthening basic public services.

Ambassador of the European Union to Jordan, Maria Hadjitheodosiou, said that this intervention addresses the challenges facing the Jordanian health system, including the coronavirus pandemic, which strained basic health services, and is designed to enhance the accessibility and efficiency of the primary healthcare system.

She emphasized that the EU supports Jordan in its commitment to ensuring universal health coverage and in achieving the health-related sustainable development goal.