World Diabetes Foundation meeting explores prevention, care of diabetes, NCDs

AMMAN — Minister of Health Feras Al Hawari met with a delegation from the World Diabetes Foundation (WDF) and the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS) on Wednesday to discuss their ongoing collaboration to improve prevention and care for diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) for vulnerable communities and refugees in Jordan.

Amal Ireifij, Director General of RHAS, reported on the progress of multiple projects that have been supported by WDF since 2016, which strengthen the prevention and care of diabetes and other NCDs in Jordan in partnership with the Ministry of Health, according to a statement made available to The Jordan Times. 

The most recent project, ‘Integrated NCD-Humanitarian Response’, aims to reduce the burden of NCDs among vulnerable Jordanians and refugees. This multi-year initiative is a collaborative project between the Jordan Ministry of Health, RHAS and other national stakeholders, including relevant UN agencies, said the statement.

During the meeting, participants discussed the  challenges and priorities related to diabetes and NCDs in Jordan. Hawari expressed his commitment to identifying and collecting key performance indicators for diabetes and NCD care in the country, as well as continuously developing clinical practice guidelines for diabetes and hypertension, as well as training healthcare professionals. 

The Minister also stressed the importance of tackling NCD prevention and making care accessible to children and youth in Jordan.

Tina A. Olesen, Vice Chairman of WDF’s Board of Directors, shared her impressions from her visit to Jordan:

“We are grateful to Minister of Health Feras Al Hawari and the Ministry of Health for their commitment to responding to NCDs in Jordan and for their integrated approach, benefitting the Jordanian host population and refugees alike. Jordan is becoming a model regionally and globally in this respect. Our partnerships in Jordan over the years have always supported multi-stakeholder engagement and collaboration, focusing on scalable and sustainable models.”

The RHAS Director General confirmed that RHAS’s consistent efforts and commitment to the national response to NCDs exist in partnership with the health minsitry and in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders. 

The Ministry of Health, the WDF, and RHAS are co-hosting a national conference on the prevention and care of NCDs in Amman this November. With the participation of the health minister, the conference will provide a platform for stakeholders to share knowledge and lessons learned related to the integrated NCD-humanitarian response in Jordan. Further, it will generate insights that could inspire replication of successful models in similar contexts regionally and globally, the statement added.

The meeting was attended by Sanne F. Helt, WDF Senior Director of Policy, Programmes and Partnerships; Jakob S. Madsen, WDF Senior Advisor, Hanin Odeh, WDF Middle East Regional Advisor and Gwen Carleton, WDF Communication Manager.

From the Health Ministry, Dr. Al Shboul, Secretary General and Dr. Al Sheyab, Director of Primary Health Care as well as Saad Al Amour, Minister Communications Advisor, attended the meeting.