‘Ministry eyes expansion in public health insurance coverage’

AMMAN — The Health Ministry adopted several measures in 2014 that contributed to the development of the health sector and improved services provided to the public, a report said on Monday.

The report, released by Basel Tarawneh, the government coordinator on human rights, said these measures are in line with government efforts towards a better human rights approach.

“The measures adopted by the ministry are very positive and seek to bolster government efforts towards ensuring better services for citizens,” Tarawneh told The Jordan Times over the phone, adding that one of them is increasing the number of citizens covered by public health insurance.

Although the report did not include figures on the number of Jordanians with public health insurance coverage in 2014, it said the measures are aimed at increasing the rate of beneficiaries to 47 per cent in 2017.

The ministry also intensified vaccination campaigns in 2014 to limit the prevalence of communicable diseases, especially among children, the report said.

Around 178,337 children, including 54,293 Syrians, were immunised against polio for free.

The report, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan Times, also showed that eight cases of measles were discovered among children in 2014.

Mohammad Srour, director of the National Vaccination Programme, said two of these children are Jordanians while the rest are Syrians.

He told The Jordan Times that the number of measles cases dropped after an intensified vaccination campaign, noting that 120 people, including 40 Jordanians, were diagnosed with the disease in 2013.

However, in the years between 2009 and 2011, there were no cases in Jordan.

The report also indicated that the ministry restructured its human rights committee in 2014 in a way that ensures respect for human rights while providing health services.

However, there are still challenges that need to be addressed to ensure better performance in the health sector, such as the brain drain and high demand on health services, in addition to the absence of “comprehensive” health insurance.