Jaber calls for more emphasis on refugees’ mental health

AMMAN — Seventy per cent of refugees suffer from psychological disorders as a result of mass conflicts, wars and displacement, Health Minister Saad Jaber said on Tuesday.

The minister’s comments came while deputising for HRH Prince Hassan at the opening of a scientific symposium for supporting refugees’ mental health held at the University of Jordan, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jordan has served a positive role by hosting displaced refugees, however, this has placed a huge burden on the Kingdom's healthcare sector, Jaber said, calling on the Health Ministry as well as the ministries of social development and planning and organisations to lend a hand and offer psychological support to refugees.

The Health Ministry is committed to implementing a work plan to provide high-quality psychological services and social support in the field of mental health, he added.

President of the University of Jordan Abdul Karim Qudah said that the influx of refugees and the crisis’ social, economic and demographic ramifications, have affected citizens' daily lives and requires coherence in plans and developmental programmes.

Chairman of the Syrian American Medical Society Foundation Maher Azzouz urged the international community to fully uphold its material and regulatory responsibilities, calling on host communities, NGOs and UN assemblies working in the humanitarian field to reconsider strategies dealing with the needs of refugees by focusing on refugees and those in host communities’ psychological well-being.