Contact: In Amman, Jordan Adam Sirois +962 79 6221941 adam.sirois@imc-jordan.org

In Washington, DC, USA Natalia Cieslik +1 202 2308804

Washington, DC, USA/Amman, Jordan, March 25, 2008 - The cost of health services is a major hurdle for Iraqi families living in Amman, Jordan, impeding access to proper medical care. A recent survey by International Medical Corps (IMC) and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) among Iraqi patients in NGO-run health clinics in Amman found that only four percent of respondents say they can afford medical assistance.

The survey was conducted at clinics where Jordan Red Crescent Society and Caritas provide free primary health care. However, half of all patients interviewed reported they spend 25% of their monthly income on health, and another 14% said that more than 50% of their monthly income went into specialized services that are not available at these NGO-run facilities.

"Most of these payments were made for drugs to manage chronic diseases, specialist diagnostic tests and surgeries. More attention needs to be paid to these services that most Iraqis in Jordan cannot afford," says Adam Sirois, International Medical Corps country director in Jordan. IMC is supporting national NGOs in providing basic health care to Iraqis displaced by the ongoing violence in their country and to vulnerable Jordanians. The joint IMC/JHSPH survey found that 83% of the Iraqi patients seeking free care at NGO-run clinics were unemployed.

Most Iraqis interviewed for the survey have come from Baghdad to Amman in 2006. After two years in exile many have exhausted their savings and sold their belongings. Barred from official employment, displaced Iraqis now face serious challenges to finding enough money to support their families and meet health care costs.

Half of the Iraqis responded that they needed mental health and psychosocial services but only five percent had access to help in this field. Patients said they felt stressed (64%), had experienced or witnessed violence (22%), or were generally affected by the displacement (22%). Others reported that they were depressed, that a family member had died or was kidnapped, or that they did not know about a relative's status as a source for psychological problems.

Many Iraqis in Jordan seek medical care at facilities where health care is provided for free by national and international NGOs. Until recently Iraqis in Jordan were charged for health services at government clinics at higher rates than Jordanians. Although the government changed this policy at the end of last year, the vast majority of Iraqis have to pay for more specialized services and medications since they cannot afford to buy private or government health insurance.

The survey report includes recommendations for concrete steps that must be taken to prevent Iraqi families in Jordan from falling into poverty or becoming more vulnerable due to out-of-pocket health payments. The clear need for more NGO-supported maternal-child health and family planning services, more affordable secondary and tertiary care, and mental health and psychosocial support, should be addressed immediately.