Amman(February 26, 2017)-- PREDICT-Jordan, EcoHealth Alliance, and USAID/Jordan organized a technical coordination workshop titled, “Advancing Health Security in Jordan - Linking People, Animals and Environment ” on February 26, 2017 at the Geneva Hotel in Amman. The event was attended by senior officials from USAID/Jordan, World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, and the Environment, as well as several deans , professors and students from the  Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) and representatives from international organizations.  

The USAID-funded PREDICT-Jordan project is a three year project, launched in 2016. Its main objective is to develop early zoonotic disease warning systems and strengthen collaboration between Jordanian government agencies and academic institutions to protect the public from disease outbreaks. Working with Jordan’s existing academic and research institutions, Jordanian PREDICT researchers have collaborated with local farmers and other stakeholders to conduct over 30 field visits, testing hundreds of samples from bats and camels, and publishing a peer-reviewed academic paper reporting their findings.

Addressing the US government’s commitment to PREDICT, USAID/Jordan Deputy Mission Director Dr. Lewis Tatem said, “The pressures on Jordan’s health system are immense, and we at USAID are committed to standing side by side with Jordan to help shoulder this burden.  As Jordan’s health system strains to respond to these extraordinary pressures, the consequences of a new zoonotic disease outbreak could be dire.  That is why this project, which is helping Jordan identify and stop zoonotic disease outbreaks before they take hold, is so important.” The United States government, through USAID, has provided foreign assistance from the American people to Jordan for more than 60 years.