Support Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan

Project Report | Jul 20, 2017
A Refugee Welcomes Twins at Azraq Camp in Jordan

By Davis Nordeen | Resource Development Assistant

Grateful Khatoon with her doctors

Bringing a child into the world in a refugee settlement can be a daunting reality for any parent to face. Two months ago, 20-year-old Syrian refugee Khatoon met an even greater challenge—giving birth to twins.

Khatoon and her brother were forced from their home in Al Reqqa in 2014 due to the conflict and sought refuge in Amman, Jordan. Khatoon got married shortly after, gave birth to a daughter and moved to village 2 in Azraq Camp in late 2016 before becoming pregnant again, this time with two baby boys. Eight days before her due date, Khatoon started to experience acute pain throughout her belly. “Although I had already had a baby girl, labor is something you never get used to,” she remembered.

From there, time moved fast. It took just 15 minutes for Khatoon to arrive at International Medical Corps’ hospital by ambulance where the obstetrician immediately determined that one of the babies was lying horizontal to the cervix and that she would need a C-section to deliver the twins safely. As the only surgical delivery room was already in use, doctors raced to prepare an auxiliary room reserved for emergencies like this, fitting it with the necessary tools and disinfecting the equipment. It took them eight minutes. The operation lasted just 30 minutes and Khatoon gave birth to two beautiful and healthy baby boys on Sunday, May 14^th.

An average of 132 babies are born at the Azraq Camp hospital each month. We have been running the hospital since November 2015 and provide critical primary and secondary health care services for refugees in addition to specialty obstetrics, maternity care, gynecology and pediatric care. In 2017, by the time Khatoon had her twins, the Azraq hospital had provided a total of 34,223 consultations and delivered 661 babies for a camp population of approximately 53,000.

The need for all of these medical services is rising as the capacity of Jordan’s health system continues to be overburdened because of a growing refugee population and a lack of adequate resources. Currently, the Government of Jordan estimates that only 40 percent of refugees living in urban settings are covered by health services, leaving more than 300,000 people with uncertain access. This issue pushes many women, like Khatoon, to move to refugee camps such as Azraq, where services are available and free.

The last time we spoke with Khatoon, she shared that taking care of the twins has been difficult, but left us with this positive outlook: “I feel very happy to have healthy babies and can’t appreciate your efforts enough. How blessed I am to be surrounded by all of you who made this happen.”

International Medical Corps wants to thank the GlobalGiving Community for their continued support of Azraq hospital and as we provide care to vulnerable refugees in Jordan.

The twins stretch their arms for the first time

Entrance at Azraq Camp Hospital

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Apr 24, 2017
Rising Needs in Jordan

By Kimberly Laney | Resource Development Officer

A class on reproductive health in Azraq Camp

“As the main provider of healthcare in Azraq Refugee Camp, International Medical Corps offers services for the entire camp population, and in 2016 provided over 230,00 medical consultations through our clinics and hospital,” notes Celeste, our Regional Coordinator for the Middle East.

With more than 658,000 registered Syrians in Jordan, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) names Jordan as the sixth-highest refugee-hosting country in the world.

Despite a strong healthcare system, the increasing needs of vulnerable refugees strain national resources across the country. To address the most urgent needs, our teams our operating relief and recovery services in Azraq as well as in Za’atari refugee camps, alongside providing humanitarian assistance in ten governorates in Jordan, specifically the urban areas of Irbid, Jarash, Ajloun, Mafraq, Zarqa, Amman, Karak, Tafileh, Madab and Ma’an.

With your support and support from the international community, our teams are addressing the need for access to quality health care by providing comprehensive primary and secondary health care services in Jordan’s Azraq Refugee Camp. Within 12 months, our teams provided more than 161,000 healthcare consultations in clinics within the camp and 71,720 healthcare consultations in Azraq Hospital. At the hospital, the number of patients has grown from about 40 a day in 2015, to 300 at the start of 2017.

The hospital specializes in obstetrics, gynecology and pediatric care and in the maternity ward, we deliver an average of 100 babies per month. We need more medications, medical consumables and medical equipment to continue supporting the number of deliveries.

Celeste goes on to note, “We are fortunate that the support of the donor community has enabled International Medical Corps to address the humanitarian needs of populations ranging from Iraqi refugees to Syrian refugees to vulnerable Jordanians throughout the Kingdom since we began working there a decade ago.”

We would like to thank the GlobalGiving community for your support as International Medical Corps supports the medical needs for the most vulnerable refugees in Jordan – many of whom were forced to leave their country years ago.

Reaching refugee children in Azraq

We thank you for your support

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Jan 24, 2017
A Healthy Birth in Azraq Refugee Camp

By Lori Brister | Resource Development Officer

Amnah sleeps peacefully

Dhiba was nine months pregnant when she and her family crossed the Syria-Jordan border on their way to the Azraq Refugee Camp. The truck shook so wildly that Dhiba was afraid she might lose her baby. A few days after arriving in the camp, she went into labor and was taken to International Medical Corps’ 24-hour clinic, and only a few minutes later, she welcomed her baby girl, Amnah. 'If there was no clinic,” Dhiba said, “it would have been a very serious situation.”

Since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, refugees have been crossing the border into neighboring countries, and more than 650,000 Syrians have taken refuge in Jordan. The dramatic influx of refugees has put a considerable strain on Jordan’s government, economy and health system. To make matters worse, most new arrivals to Azraq Camp endure limited access to quality medical care, including maternal care, for several years.

International Medical Corps works closely with the Government of Jordan to provide primary health care, mental health and psychosocial support at static and mobile clinics to refugees as well as vulnerable host populations. With more than 100 babies born each month in the Azraq Camp Hospital, our teams are strengthening and expanding maternal health care, including prenatal and postnatal care and safe delivery services.

A few days after Amnah’s birth, her physician visited the mother and child to check on the family’s health. Dhiba credits her safe delivery and the health of her children to International Medical Corps’ staff. She said, “I feel safe because the clinic is there to provide services to me and my family.”

We would like to thank the GlobalGiving community for your support of International Medical Corps’ work in the Azraq Refugee Camp.

Amnah's siblings are proud of their baby sister

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