This report aims to review the status of children in Greater Amman and to conduct a capacity assessment of key institutions addressing children’s issues. Various issues are examined;; covering areas such as health;; education;; and socio-economic characteristics. This report also reviews the status of disadvantaged children;; including working children;; orphans;; refugees;; and children with disabilities;; in order to identify vulnerabilities and risk factors specific to them. Finally;; this report assesses the capacity of selected institutions addressing children’s issues in Greater Amman and proposes phased capacity building programs based on the findings of the assessment.

The 2011 annual report provides a comprehensive summary of the ongoing projects by the UNICEF Jordan Country Office (JCO). The programmes and projects include social protection initiatives for the National Aid Fund and Zakat Fund;; national perinatal and neonatal mortality study and development of nationwide computerized violence tracking system. . The analysis of the report is based on the progress and assessment of the JCO’s projects in partnership with other organizations in relevant fields including the Ministries of Interior;; Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and other UN agencies (UNDP;; UNFPA;; UNWOMEN;; UNHCR and WHO). The report specifies the organization’s methodology in collecting data and evidence and monitoring mechanisms to track and assess programme progress. In evaluating the development of ongoing projects;; the report summarizes future work plans and examines critical factors and constraints in each project.

The report presents an up-to-date analysis of gender disparities in Jordan to inform development assistance programs by the USAID for the 2013-2017 strategic plan. The assessment report is prepared by the Global Health Technical Assistance Project;; funded by USAID Jordan and therefore;; it is based on a literature review and field work of the 21 focus group discussions held in Amman;; Irbid;; Tafileh and Zarqa. The report establishes that Jordan has begun to transition to a knowledge-based economy with the national advantage as its people. It also points out that despite the investments that have helped address gender equality issues;; Jordan continues to bear low female participation in the labor markets;; gender stereotypes about the role of females and males and conservative cultural norms. The report includes a sector-by-sector analysis;; recommendations;; gender review and an illustrative implementation plan. It concludes with key recommendations on the wide breadth of the USAID Jordan portfolio with a key emphasis on gender issues.

This publication aims to summarize and assess the results of the United States Energy Association (USEA)’s Jordan Energy Partnership Project (JUPP);; funded by the USAID. The JUPP is part of the USEA/USAID Energy Utility Partnership Program (EUPP);; which assists developing countries with increasing environmentally sustainable energy production and use and improving the operational efficiency and increased financial viability of their utilities and related institutions. The JUPP focuses on improving the technical and operational efficiency of Jordan’s electric utilities and electric grid. Defining energy insecurity as one of the most significant problems in Jordan;; the report summarizes the program’s activities and assesses their results and impacts. It looks at multiple aspects including the utility participant training and female participation. The results of the publication are increasing system efficiency;; developing customer energy efficiency programs;; increasing corporate efficiency;; supporting capacity building;; reducing electricity losses and power outages;; improving transmission dispatch center operations;; enhancing worker productivity through safety and interconnecting renewable energy and distributed generation. The report concludes with key lessons learned from the projects.

The report is based on a field assessment of 16 desert campsites in the city of Aqaba – Wadi Rum and Dieseh districts to evaluate these camps’ energy needs and their current energy situation. As part of the Public Action for Water;; Energy and Environment Project (PAP);; a public education and behavior change communication program developed to support USAID’s technical and policy investments in the Jordanian water and energy sectors;; the report assesses the current government policies and behaviors related to the issues of water;; solid waste and energy at campsites in Wadi Rum and Dieseh. The fieldwork of the report was designed to assess current campsites’ situation and energy profile;; evaluate how to reduce their energy needs;; and assess the possibility of installing renewable energy for electricity. The report concludes with several recommendations such as the enhancement of energy efficiency;; re-design of the electrical lighting systems;; re-wire of the electrical circuits;; and enforcement of laws and regulations.

The report explores the level of knowledge;; attitudes held and practices observed by young people towards environmental issues related to water and energy conservation and sold waste management. It maps out available resources;; programs and learning opportunities in the informal and non-formal education sectors;; through which positive environmental attitudes can be encouraged and promoted. The survey of the report assess the knowledge;; attitudes and practices of young people aged 7 -24;; educations;; staff and youth workers to identify strengths and areas for improvement through capacity building and explore existing resources;; programs to evaluate their effectiveness. This research was conducted as part of the Public Action for Water;; Energy and Environment Project (PAP);; which aims to encourage water and energy conservation and to support behavior change towards more conservation and efficient practices both at the household level and in the commercial;; industrial and civil society arenas using social marketing behavioral methods. The study concludes that there is a need for more “green” programs that involve youth in a proactive way and therefore;; it recommends that programs targeting youth need to remain positive;; dynamic and in context. The recommendations of the report include development of environmental resources in the Arabic language;; the youth-led;; peer-led programs that involve participatory learning opportunities;; and social media tools to raise interests;; awareness and creation of environmental education task force.