Health and nutrition
Supporting the healthy growth, development, and well-being of children in Jordan.
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- العربية
Situation
Jordan has come a long way in keeping mothers and children healthy. Almost all children, 98.2 per cent, are now vaccinated, and fewer mothers and babies are dying than ever before. But not every child is benefiting equally. Children and mothers living in in vulnerable situations still face greater risks to their health, and several serious challenges remain.
More and more people are getting long-term illnesses. Diseases like diabetes and heart disease are now the cause of 78 out of every 100 deaths in Jordan, with serious consequences for the long-term health of children and families.
Many babies are not being breastfed. Breast milk is the healthiest food for a newborn baby. But only 24 in every 100 babies in Jordan are fed only breast milk in their first six months of life. This is well below the WHO's target of 50 per cent by 2025, and has direct consequences for infant health, immunity, and development.
Malnutrition, in different forms, is affecting children. Stunting affects 8.3 per cent of children under five, meaning they are not growing as they should. The figure rises to nearly 12 per cent among children in the poorest households. At the same time, rates of overweight and obesity in young children have doubled over the past decade especially adolescent girls and young women.
Many children and young girls lack essential vitamins and minerals. Nearly 1 in 3 young children under the age of 5 are affected by anaemia, which is a lack of healthy red blood cells, leading to low energy and fatigue, with disproportionately high rates among refugees.
Vaccine hesitancy is on the rise, with families having doubts about vaccines - a trend that grew since the COVID-19 pandemic. If this continues, diseases that vaccines once kept under control could come back.
Children with disabilities are not getting enough support. About 7 in every 100 children aged 5 to 17 in Jordan have some form of disability or difficulty with daily activities. While some government health centers have started screening newborns for birth defects, this service is not yet available everywhere in the country.
What does UNICEF do?
UNICEF/Elaiwa
UNICEF supports the Government of Jordan in building a health system that works for all children, no matter where they live across the country.
Our key areas of focus are:
Our key areas of focus are:
UNICEF works with the Ministry of Health to reach the most vulnerable children and families through mobile outreach teams that travel to underserved communities, providing health check‑ups, nutrition support, vaccinations and early detection services for those with limited access to clinics or hospitals. UNICEF also strengthens primary health centres and safe vaccine delivery across Jordan, promotes exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life, and supports early screening and follow‑up care for children with disabilities.
UNICEF supports data collection, research, and training so that the Government of Jordan can design health and nutrition programmes that are grounded in evidence and built to last.
With our partners, these are some of the results UNICEF achieved in Jordan in 2025:
- Introduced the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) into Jordan's national immunization programme.
- Vaccinated 35,199 Jordanian children against pneumococcal disease, exceeding national targets, along with 2,256 refugee children.
- Reduced the number of "zero dose" children, or those who had received no vaccinations at all, from 7,000 in 2024 to 1,480 in 2025 (a reduction of 79 per cent).
- Vaccinated 3,665 students in Za'atari and Azraq refugee camps against vaccine-preventable diseases, with immunization status verified across other school grades.
- Identified 898 children with disabilities in refugee camps, and provided them with 967 assistive devices, improving their ability to participate in school and daily life.
- Launched the Nutrition Environment Assessment in Schools to gather evidence on school food environments.
- Trained 30 young advocates to lead community awareness activities promoting healthier food environments in schools.