Health Linkages and National Networks for Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

The goal of Health Linkages and National Networks (HLNN) is to increase awareness of available health services from the Jordanian government to Iraqi refugee residing in the country. Partnering with 16 Ministry of Health centers, HLNN assists Iraqis to receive services at reduced fees and targets women and youth to receive information and training on maternal, child, and reproductive healthcare, thereby reducing their vulnerability and reliance on parallel health structures and increasing the effectiveness of community-based mechanisms for domestic and gender-based violence mitigation and response.

Adapting IRD’s existing community and health outreach system, HLNN will utilize specialized community health volunteers (CHVs) to intensify the information campaign and referral to 16 health centers in Amman, Zarqa, and Irbid neighborhoods where a high number of Iraqis reside. CHVs will accompany refugees to the health centers identified in collaboration with the ministry and the USAID-funded Health Systems Strengthening II Program. Visits will be scheduled by CHVs to capitalize on free services, with a focus on comprehensive vaccination for Iraqi children, pre- and postnatal care for mothers and infants, and reproductive health and contraception. In addition, HLNN will continue to collaborate with the ministry on professional capacity development by training staff to improve quality of service delivery at the primary care points.

HLNN aims to increase awareness of gender-based violence issues among Iraqis through skill-building training. HLNN will focus on men and youth, two very vulnerable groups in need of deeper understanding of domestic violence and gender-based issues. Our community-building violence and conflict management program enables participants to deal with potentially violent and unhealthy situations in new and creative ways. The workshops also serve as a platform for discussion of reproductive health issues. Workshops also focus on the development of support networks addressing health and emotional needs, and build linkages to legal protection for refugees, hotlines for gender-based violence, and shelters for victims of domestic violence. To date, over 500 men and 200 youth identified through IRD’s OSIR and CBSP programs have participated in violence prevention and conflict mitigation workshops.

HLNN works with 130 at-risk Iraqi women who are provided with in-depth health and violence prevention training and linked to emotional support networks. HLNN aims to continue to increase awareness of reproductive health, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, and breast cancer through an intensive campaign to increase awareness of various health issues and health risks. HLNN will also refer beneficiaries to appropriate reproductive health programs that offer free contraception and subsidized HIV testing at partner centers.