Int’l donors contribute $18.7m to support Jordan’s COVID-19 efforts

AMMAN — On Thursday, the governments of the United States, Denmark, Canada and Qatar announced an allocation of $10 million through a multi-donor agreement to help Jordan address the COVID-19 health crisis facing the country. 

In addition, the governments of Denmark and the US contributed a combined $8.7 million in new assistance for a total of $18.7 million to bolster health measures that will protect lives and combat the spread of the disease, according to a Health Ministry statement.

The COVID-19 funding is helping the Ministry of Health to expand its testing and case management procedures to monitor infections and provide care for the sick. 

The support will also strengthen laboratories throughout the country so they can undertake the testing required to fight the disease while allowing the economy to slowly reopen. Building laboratory capacity will address the immediate public health crisis while putting systems in place that support the health needs of individuals and families in the future.

The multi-donor joint financing agreement, titled “Jordan Health Fund for Refugees,” created in 2018, offers the “most effective means” of simultaneously promoting the population's health in a cost-efficient manner and strengthening the government’s capacity by working with and through the Ministry of Health’s systems, the statement said.