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AMMAN — The Jordan Environment Federation (JFU) has warned that a health and environment crisis is "looming" in Azraq municipality, which sits on a major basin supplying the capital with a substantial portion of its water needs.

Located some 115 kilometres east of Amman, Azraq is home to a population of 100,000 people, more than 20 per cent of whom are Syrian refugees living in the Azraq refugee camp, JFU President Omar Shoshan said, indicating that, until now, the municipality has not been linked to a sewage network.

“Cesspits spread all over Azraq because the municipality is not linked to a sewage network. Therefore, people dispose of wastewater in cesspits that they regularly empty,” Shoshan told The Jordan Times.

When cesspits are full, people call sewage tankers to pump out the wastewater, the president explained, claiming that drivers of sewage tankers dump the wastewater in open areas that are not designated for the disposal of wastewater.

“Dumping wastewater in undesignated areas is a major health and environment hazard and a violation of the law by itself. But, the fact that the wastewater is being dumped in open spaces in Azraq is even more of a major hazard to public health safety because it sits on a major fresh water basin,” Shoshan underlined.

There are empty pockets below and dumped wastewater can leak into the Azraq basin, which authorities pump around 17 million cubic metres of water to people in Amman and adjacent cities, he noted, stressing that the government has been asked to place linking Azraq municipality to the sewage network as one of its utmost priorities.

“The municipality is seeing expanding urbanisation. It is not acceptable that wastewater of Azraq residents and the refugees in the camp are dumped haphazardly. A major environment and health crisis is, therefore, looming unless authorities move, and move fast,” Shoshan noted.

An official at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation said that linking Azraq and other areas to the wastewater network is among the ministry’s priorities, which needs extensive financing.

“Many populated areas in Jordan are not linked to the wastewater network and the ministry has a strategy to address this issue in place. Jordan has received some 1.4 million Syrian refugees, which not only exacerbated Jordan's water shortage, but also placed huge pressure on the sewage network and infrastructure, thus necessitating the expansion of the system,” the official said.

The official underlined that linking each household to the wastewater network costs more than JD3,000, highlighting that huge funding is necessary to expand wastewater linkage in Jordan.

Shoshan cited a study that estimated the cost of linking Azraq Municipality to the sewage network at JD18 million. He noted that the union and the Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association are installing decentralised sanitation plants to treat wastewater in Azraq.

“But this is not enough and it does not solve the problem,” Shoshan concluded.

AMMAN — The National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) on Wednesday held its first consultative meeting with stakeholders on early childhood development (ECD), announcing the official launch of the council’s formation of a national team dedicated to troubleshooting ECD related issues. 

The meeting comes in light of a partnership agreement signed last month by the NCFA and the NGO Plan International Jordan (PIJ) to establish an ECD coordination platform in Jordan aimed at bringing together all key players to foster a better inter-sector collaboration.

In the presence of representatives of UNICEF, Save the Children and the Ministry of Social Development, among others, the event sought to “address and break the barriers faced by organisations in pursuing the best practices in the benefit of all children”, Director of NCFA Childhood Affairs Directorate Khitam Ahmad Al Utaibi told The Jordan Times.

The organisations are expected to hold a second meeting after Eid Al Fitr, followed by annual reunions where the members of the team will exchange thoughts and experiences to benefit from each other’s experience. 

At the end of the first meeting, Al Utaibi stated: “Most participating organisations and institutions appeared very supportive of the idea of having a database collecting the information and programmes run by each partner, as this would help on working in cross cutting issues.”

Regarding the most urgent problems to be tackled by the team, NCFA Acting Secretary General Mohammad Miqdadi stressed the low participation in KG1 in Jordan, noting that the council’s surveys showed that 49 per cent of mothers across the Kingdom prefer to take care of their children at home. 

“We need to pay attention to this issue, as it is essential for children at that stage to develop their primary skills together with a professional,” Miqdadi stressed, pointing out that the most significant barriers preventing families to enroll children in kindergarten are the high fees and the lack of transportation to the centres. 

For her part, PIJ representative in Jordan Muna Abbas underlined: “The ECD sector is tremendously challenged in the sense that problems are scattered in different aspects and the organisations working on them are inevitably divided,” expressing hopes to “reach an integrated approach in the near future”.

AMMAN — As the sounds of protestors were echoing an area near the Prime Ministry, Mohammad Shaweesh bent down to collect garbage from the street.

Shaweesh described his manner as "just as important" as the cause that united all people to take the streets of the capital. 

“I distributed water to Gendarmerie forces and collected the garbage because we are going for the sake of the country in a peaceful manner so this is why we do that,” he told The Jordan Times as he was collecting garbage. 

Shaweesh is among five young volunteers who rushed to collect garbage and distribute water for protestors as soon as the protests flared in Amman. 

Since last Wednesday, Jordanians have been protesting against the new income tax draft law, demanding the withdrawal of the law and a change in the government’s economic approach. 

“This is the least I can do for the sake of Jordan and its people to move garbage and boxes. I came to support my country so why should I destroy it? By collecting garbage we help our country,” Shaweesh said with pride.

Abdullah Al Jaya, 19, said they noticed that people feel very thirsty so they decided to bring boxes of water cups to distribute them for participants and security forces. 

“Our voluntary work is as important as the demands of the protesters, so, at the same time, we have to collect the cups of water we brought to them. We came to protest not to destroy or make things dirty,” he added.  

Jaya said social media helped promote their demands and such manners to show that Jordanians are part of a civilised nation. 

Ihab Bassam, another volunteer, said everyone here is rushing to do positive initiatives for the sake of Jordan. 

“We even saw children give us a hand. This will inspire the new generation to keep doing positive steps in the future,” he added.

AMMAN — Cancer patients who are more than 60 years old constitute 45 per cent of the total number of cancer patients in the Kingdom, King Hussein Cancer Centre  Director General Asem Mansour said on Wednesday.

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Mansour said that this age category forms 6-7 per cent of the Kingdom's population, but accounts for almost half of the cancer cases in Jordan, estimating the number of new cancer patients at 8,000 cases annually, both citizens and residents.

Mansour noted that, compared to the rates recorded in developed countries, the infection rates in Jordan are lower, attributing this to the efficiency of early inspection and the higher age average in developed countries. 

According to international statistics, cancer rates in Arab countries are still low compared to other countries, Mansour said, adding that these rates are expected to increase as the Arab world is witnessing a change in the population pyramid, with a raise in the numbers of old people and the spread of cancer factors. 

The director noted that cancer factors include smoking, alcohol, overweight, food pattern and laziness, which are responsible for some 70 per cent of cancer cases.

Cancer accounts for 7-9 per cent of the health budgets of Arab countries, according to Mansour, who noted that 50 per cent of cancer treatment bills, which include medicines and cancer treatment equipment, are imported materials. 

AMMAN — Hundreds of citizens rallied on Tuesday evening in a march from Al Mashaghel roundabout in Tabarbour, east of the capital, towards the Royal Court, highly appraising the support of His Majesty King Abdullah to the demands of the street to change the government and open a comprehensive national dialogue on many issues and concerns of citizens, primarily the poor economic conditions and improving the living standards of citizens, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The participants in the march expressed great pride in the wise leadership of His Majesty to move forward with the homeland's march in order to overcome the difficult circumstances, which reflected positively on the citizens. Public Security Department forces secured the march and facilitated traffic on the nearby roads.

AMMAN — The Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) sent another batch of medical aid to the Jordan military field hospital in the Gaza Strip, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

JHCO Secretary General Ayman Mifleh said the medical aid comes in implementation of Royal directives to help the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip following the recent events, pointing out that the aid included medicines and medical supplies, and it is the second batch during the holy month of Ramadan.

The first batch of aid was sent to the Gaza Strip at the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan and included medicines and medical supplies as well.

AMMAN — Upon Royal directives by His Majesty King Abdullah, the Jordanian Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) on Monday held an Iftar banquet for military retirees, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat commended the role of military retirees and veterans as reservists, stressing the importance of showing appreciation for their contribution to the process of building the JAF.

For their part, the retirees expressed their pride and appreciation of the army, praising the advanced levels of performance it has reached.

AMMAN — Jordan’s Ambassador to Russia Amjad Adayleh and Patriarch Kirill, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, on Wednesday discussed the cooperation between Jordan and the Orthodox Patriarch to promote Jordan, especially the Baptism Site, as a destination for Christian pilgrims, the Jordan News agency, Petra, reported.

Patriarch Kirill expressed his appreciation and admiration of Jordan under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah and its constructive role in protecting the Christian presence in the region by establishing a residence for Russian pilgrims at the Baptism Site.

The Patriarch praised Jordan’s efforts in hosting refugees, including Christians who fled war torn neighbouring countries.

For his part, Adayleh hailed the Orthodox Church role in promoting values of dialogue and tolerance and protecting Christians in the region.He reviewed efforts in promoting Jordan as an “important” Christian religious site and attracting Russian tourists, referring to the steps taken by the concerned authorities to provide facilitations to visitors of religious places, mainly the Baptism Site.

AMMAN — The University of Jordan (UJ) was ranked the 151^h among the top 200 universities worldwide, according to the 2018 Times Higher Education (THE) ranking, the Jordan News agency, Petra, reported on Wednesday.

The report, which included 200 universities from 44 countries, ranked institutions founded between 1945 and 1967.

UJ President Azmi Mahafzah said: “The progress of the university today proves its universality and this is evidenced by its inclusion for the first time in this ranking, which is issued by one of the most important organisation.”

The classification is based on 13 indicators of performance, divided into five categories: education, scientific research, research citations, the international dimension and finally the industrial income which depends on the income resulting from cooperation with the industrial sector.

AMMAN — Deir Ala Health Directorate personnel gave four health violations and warned 25 commercial shops for violating health requirements during the third week of the holy month, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Assistant director of Health Affairs for Deir Ala in Balqa Governorate, Manawar Ghousha, said that the inspection teams of the directorate gave four health violations and warned 25 shops for violating the necessary health requirements through 132 inspection tours during the third week of the holy month.

Ghousha added that four juice vendors were arrested for selling without proper licence and they were transferred to proceed with the legal requirements, indicating that the inspection teams will scale up their inspection tours this week on pastry shops and bakeries before Eid Al Fitr.

Ghosheh also said that Deir Ala health centre will open its doors to the visitors during Eid Al Fitr holiday, in addition to a doctor and four employees of the directorate.