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AMMAN — The King Hussein Cancer Foundation and the King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC) will start issuing “smoke-free zone” certificates to institutions that ban smoking in all their indoor facilities, a KHCC official said Wednesday.

The certification programme aims to highlight the efforts of institutions committed to the Public Health Law, which prohibits smoking in public areas, and to create “positive incentives” for others, according to Rasha Bader, head of planning and project management at the KHCC’s Cancer Control Office.

“The programme seeks to create smoke-free areas to protect the health of non-smokers,” she said.

The programme is open to restaurants, cafés, schools, hospitals and companies with a minimum of 80 employees, in addition to commercial complexes and malls, according to Bader. 

Eligible institutions should be smoke-free since their establishment or for a minimum of nine months from World No Tobacco Day, marked annually on May 31.

“The application form is available on the foundation’s website; applicants can download it, fill it out and send it back,” Bader told The Jordan Times in a phone interview, adding that the deadline is March 20.

HH Princess Dina Mired is scheduled to honour qualified institutions in an official celebration marking World No Tobacco Day, the KHCC official said. 

“According to the application form, qualified institutions are to take part in spreading social awareness against tobacco,” Bader said.

Institutions that “doubt their eligibility” are also encouraged to apply, she added, because the KHCC will assist applicants that are not selected in becoming smoke-free.

AMMAN — As the Syrian crisis marks its third anniversary this weekend, 400 to 1,000 Syrians continue to cross into Jordan every day, fleeing the war in their country, according to the UNHCR.

The number of registered Syrian refugees in Jordan has so far exceeded 600,000.

More than 200,000 Syrians are expected to cross into Jordan this year alone, Andrew Harper, the UNHCR's representative to Jordan, said at a lecture delivered on Wednesday at the University of Jordan.

However, the increase expected this year is not the only challenge as “we do not know when the conflict will come to an end and how many refugees are expected to come,” Harper added.

“The international community should not take Jordan for granted,” the UNHCR official warned, adding that Jordan has been one of the most generous countries in hosting refugees throughout the years out of a cultural tradition, “although the Kingdom is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention”.

“Jordan should not be taken for granted and forgotten. The international community has provided support, but it does not match the needs,” Harper said.

Khalid Wazani, a prominent economist, shared Harper's sentiment, noting that the international community should do more to assist Jordan.

Citing a study he conducted on the impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordan that will be published next month, Wazani said the direct cost on the budget is $3,500 per year for each refugee.

He added that this is a huge burden on the state budget, which is expected to suffer a JD2.2 billion deficit this year.

Wazani noted that the refugee burden places pressure on education, health facilities and infrastructure, including water and sanitation, in addition to exacerbating unemployment with Syrians taking over Jordanians' jobs.

“The government has to… show the international community that meeting the implications of the crisis is highly negative on Jordan,” Wazani told The Jordan Times in a phone interview.

Harper said no schools or hospitals are being built through the help of the international community to help Jordan mitigate the impact of the crisis, stressing that the world should help the Kingdom if it expects Jordan "to keep its doors open".

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said "it is absolutely essential that the international community mobilises massively" to support Syria's neighbouring countries "to make sure that they are able to cope with the challenge and to preserve the stability of the region".

"I hope that those that have the most important responsibility in world affairs will be able to understand that forgetting Syria will be a total disaster," Guterres told Reuters while visiting Washington to discuss Syria's refugee crisis this week.

Almost 80 per cent of the Syrian refugees in Jordan live among host communities and not in camps, according to official figures, while around 107,000 refugees are in the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Mafraq Governorate, some 80km northeast of Amman.

The government recently announced that another camp will be officially opened in Azraq, east of Amman, by the end of April this year.

Child refugees

As the crisis continues, the future of a whole generation of Syrian children is at stake; therefore, UNICEF is working on scaling up the delivery of safe education, protection from exploitation, abuse and violence and psychological care for affected children, according to UNICEF Deputy Representative to Jordan Michele Servadei.

“More and more emphasis is now placed on response in host communities where 80 per cent of the refugees live and where children are the most exposed to violence and neglect,” Servadei told The Jordan Times in an e-mail interview on Wednesday.

“In 2014, the forecasted number of Syrian beneficiaries is expected to reach 800,000,” Servadei said, adding that UNICEF has appealed for $170.5 million to ensure that services are sustained in camps and expanded in host communities.

According to UNICEF figures, 53 per cent of the Syrian refugees registered in Jordan are children, while UNHCR figures indicate that 10,370 Syrian babies were born in Jordan in 2013 alone.

A total of 691 Syrian babies were born in the UNFPA clinic at the Zaatari camp in 2013, while 258 babies were delivered at the clinic so far this year.

Special efforts are made to reach the most vulnerable and at risk children — unaccompanied minors, those who are out-of-school and those living with disabilities — as well as child labourers and those at risk of early marriage, according to Servadei.

“UNICEF has turned closer attention to supporting host communities, both to ensure we are reaching the most vulnerable children (regardless of nationality or status) and to enhance the ability of Jordanian people and institutions to provide basic services, including education, in the face of this protracted humanitarian crisis," he explained.

Servadei said UNICEF has delivered water and sanitation services to all refugees in camps (over 170,000 people receive 35 litres per person per day), and rehabilitated water systems in host communities serving over 400,000 people. 

In addition, 150 public schools received improved infrastructure services, benefiting over 133,000 Jordanian and Syrian children, according to the agency.

“UNICEF, in direct support to the Ministry of Education, has ensured that over 109,000 Syrian refugee children had access to formal education and 15,000 to informal and remedial classes whether in camps or communities,” Servadei said.

He added that core child protection interventions have reached vulnerable children throughout the country: 109,282 Syrian children received psychosocial support; over 1,500 separated and unaccompanied children were identified and provided with interim care or reunified with their families; and some 700 social workers were trained on case management. 

UNICEF has also supported the Health Ministry's measles and polio immunisation campaigns, which reached over 3.4 million Jordanian and Syrian children. In addition, more that 50,000 infants and pregnant and lactating mothers received complementary feeding. 

AMMAN — During a visit to the Royal Medical Services’ (RMS) nursery on Wednesday, Her Majesty Queen Rania checked on the recent achievements of the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) in early childhood development.

Funded by the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND) and in line with the Early Childhood Development Strategy and the National Childhood Plan for 2004-13, the NCFA has been working on a project to develop services offered to children under the age of four.

As part of this project, the NCFA plans to standardise 10 nurseries in Jordan to serve as models that could be replicated across the Kingdom. 

The workplace nursery which the Queen visited Wednesday was recently developed by NCFA as part of this project, according to a statement from Her Majesty’s office.

While checking on the crèche, Queen Rania listened to mothers and caregivers talk about the enhancement of services provided to children and infants, and the manner in which they positively affected their physical and emotional upbringing.

Queen Rania also met with a number of the project’s stakeholders and asserted the importance of partnerships such as the one between the NCFA and the AGFUND in helping to bring about positive change on the ground. 

Recent studies have emphasised the importance of early childhood development and providing children with stimulating environments that help them develop their skills, the Queen said.

She praised the RMS for its “leading role in enhancing early childhood development practices” at its on-site nursery and expressed hope that such efforts would be replicated in crèches at private sector companies. 

Such an achievement, the Queen noted, would be of tremendous support to working mothers and ultimately increase the number of women participating in the labour force.

RMS Director Maj. Gen. Khalaf Al Jader highlighted the importance of the RMS’ partnership with the NCFA, which positively affected the level of services that its nursery provides to 200 children.

NCFA Secretary General Fadel Al Homoud presented a briefing on the project’s achievements, which included developing national standards for establishing and licensing childhood centres, as well as issuing national guidelines for caregivers in early childhood development.

The council has also worked on developing a manual for early childhood development pertaining to children under the age of four. The manual can be found on the NCFA website.

In partnership with the Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education, the NCFA has also trained 10 teachers who won the KG category of the Teacher Award on early childhood development methods. 

The trained teachers will in turn train other KG caregivers, ultimately enhancing the quality of services being offered in childhood care centres around Jordan.

Suha Tabbal of the NCFA described how the council released a guidebook that includes the set of skills children should be developing at certain stages in their development. 

She added that the council also devised a number of activities aimed at engaging children and improving their skills.

Labour Ministry Secretary General Hamada Abu Nejmeh talked about the implementation of Article 72 of the Labour Law, which obligates companies with at least 20 female employees with a total of 10 children under the age of four to provide adequate daycare facilities in the workplace supervised by trained personnel.

Chairman of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development Omar Razzaz, said the fund is currently working with the NCFA to establish 100 new crèches at private sector companies in hopes of increasing female labour force participation.

Also speaking at the meeting, Hashemite University President Kamal Bani-Hani said the university is also working with the NCFA to establish an on-site nursery for 200 children.

AMMAN — Terrorism is the most dangerous threat to Arab countries, as the current regional unrest provides a “fertile” environment for spreading extremism, Interior Minister Hussein Majali said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the 31st session of the Arab Interior Ministers Council meeting, which started in Morocco on Wednesday, Majali called for establishing genuine partnerships among Arab countries to combat extremism through educational and religious institutions.

He also stressed the need to draw up strategic plans to fight terrorism and take the necessary measures to combat it in cooperation with all regional countries.

On the sidelines of the session, which was inaugurated by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Majali met separately with his Egyptian, Palestinian and Saudi counterparts, and discussed the latest developments in the region and ways to boost cooperation.

During his meeting with Egyptian Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, Majali underlined Jordan’s support for Egypt and the need to further improve bilateral cooperation, especially in the area of security and combating crime and extremism.

Majali said Jordan stands by Egypt in the face of the various challenges, stressing that the historic relations between the two countries will remain a solid basis that guarantees the rights of their peoples.

Ibrahim expressed his country’s appreciation of Jordan’s support.

Talks with his Palestinian counterpart Saeed Abu Ali covered the positive impact of better security and development in Palestine on Jordan.

Abu Ali commended Jordan’s support for the Palestinian cause and its efforts to make the voice of Palestine heard on the international arena.

Majali and Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammad Bin Nayef Bin Abdullah discussed bilateral ties and prospects for further cooperation.

The Saudi official commended Jordan’s efforts in hosting Syrian refugees despite the economic challenges it has to deal with.

AMMAN — HH Prince Mired has renewed calls on the US to join the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, which bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines.

“There is no good reason for the USA to remain outside of the convention and many good reasons why it should join,” Prince Mired, who serves as a special envoy for the convention, also known as the Ottawa Convention, said at an EU-sponsored symposium on US landmine policy held recently.

“Moreover, anything short of adopting a policy that would see the US administration commit to never, under any circumstances, use, produce, stockpile or transfer anti-personnel mines would leave the US on the side-lines and not in the lead where it normally belongs,” the prince added. 

The event was convened by Human Rights Watch on behalf of the US Campaign to Ban Landmines, and the Ottawa Convention’s Implementation Support Unit, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.  

The symposium, which took place at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC, also featured the participation of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate, Jody Williams, and various military and policy experts. 

“… Maintaining a policy that falls short of what is required to conclusively end the landmine era would seem to be inconsistent with the advanced, forward-looking America that we all know and respect,” Prince Mired said.

“The USA shares our concern about the humanitarian tragedy caused by anti-personnel mines. The USA has not used anti-personnel mines for over two decades.”

The US, unlike any other state, has the capacity to lead, the prince added, noting that a change in US policy to bring it in line with the provisions of the Ottawa Convention would have an impact on the positions of other states that remain outside of the convention.

“My country, Jordan, has benefited greatly from US support in removing mined areas from the Hashemite Kingdom. But while the USA has admirably invested greatly in the removal of these hidden killers, we would dearly like to see it do more to ensure that no more mines are put into the ground,” he added.

“I am optimistic and hopeful. Moreover, I am confident that the outcome of the US policy review would be announced shortly and that it would see the US claim its place on the right side of history on this issue.”

The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention was adopted in Oslo in 1997. 

AMMAN — British Ambassador to Jordan Peter Millett recently checked on the implementation of a public park in Kharja village in Irbid Governorate, according to a Mercy Corps statement issued this week.

The park is implemented within the Leadership and Community Development Project (LCDP) carried out by Mercy Corps and funded by the British embassy in collaboration with the UNHCR.

The project seeks to support efforts to respond to the impact of the Syrian crisis on host communities.

The first phase of the LCDP consists of 15 projects at a total cost of JD1.41 million in six local communities in Irbid, Mafraq and Ramtha, varying from football playgrounds, schools and healthcare centre expansions,  according to the statement.

The second phase consists of 21 projects in the three cities at a total cost of JD1.152 million.

AMMAN — Austrians are interested in Jordan’s food and hospitality, Austria’s Ambassador to Jordan Astrid Harz said on Tuesday.

During a meeting with Tourism Minister Nidal Katamine, Harz noted that Austrians are most interested in Aqaba, the Dead Sea and treatment spas in Jordan.

Katamine briefed Harz on Jordan’s unique archaeological sites and the ministry’s plans to develop tourist attractions.

The two officials agreed to encourage more Austrian tourist groups to come to Jordan.

AMMAN — Water Authority of Jordan Secretary General Tawfiq Habashneh on Tuesday checked on the site where mobile wastewater treatment stations will be built at the Zaatari Refugee Camp.

Habashneh, along with engineers from the authority, listened to a briefing on the stations, which will treat wastewater generated by the camp’s residents to be used for irrigating fodder crops.

AMMAN — Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji on Monday said the Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) assets stood at around JD2.5 billion.

In a lecture at the Orthodox Club, he noted that GAM has increased its capital spending to reach JD170 million, which will have a positive impact on the quality of services.

Biltaji underlined the municipality’s commitment to decreasing expenditures, expecting its austerity measures to realise JD4.6 million in surplus each year.

The mayor highlighted that the “random” expansion of Amman is placing huge pressure on its infrastructure, noting that around 3.5 million people reside in the city.

AMMAN — French Ambassador to Jordan Caroline Dumas on Tuesday awarded Judicial Institute of Jordan President Judge Mansour Hadidi the medal of Chevalier Légion d’honneur.

The ambassador praised Hadidi’s role in boosting relations with France, especially in the field of judicial cooperation.