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 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.

تبحث هذه الورقة في ﻋﺪّﺓ مواضيع ومنها أحكام حق المرأة في الملكية والميراث في الإسلام;; و الإطار القانوني لحق المرأة في الملكية والميراث في الأردن;; وضمانات هذه الحقوق;; إضافة إلى عكس واقع حق المراة في الملكية والميراث في الأردن. ومن ثم عرض النتائج والتوصيات.

يوجز هذا التقرير أوضاع المرأة الأردنية من خلال جداول احصائية مصنفة حسب النوع الاجتماعي;; ويرصد بشكل مختصر أبرز المنجزات التي تم تحقيقها;; وكما يشير إلى الفجوات الواجب معالجتها.

The report is a Jordan country profile of the Regional Water Governance Benchmarking Project (ReWaB) and the results assessment of the project. The ReWaB is a project that aims to establish a system of water governance capacity and performance benchmarking for Middle East and North Africa countries. The report resents the projects' approach to water governance benchmarking;; brief overview of the political;; economic;; and social situation in Jordan;; the country's water availability;; and it also outlines the main users and managers of Jordan's limited water resources and identifies relevant trans boundary issues. With a description of the main actors in Jordan's water governance and their influence on functional performance;; the report presents and discusses the main findings of the Policy and Legal Analysis and the expert-based assessment;; which gauged the functional effectiveness of the Jordanian water sector and application of good governance processes in water-related decision-making. The report concludes by highlighting Jordan's organizing and building capacity and strategic planning in policy documents. It also notes areas with potential challenges such as the broad function of allocating water and mechanisms for water trades and complimentary conflict mitigation.

The tourism sector assessment report examines critical questions related to Jordan's best opportunity areas for tourism development growth that will result in increasing tourism receipts;; private-sector investment in tourism;; and tourism-related employment. The report identifies global trends;; best practices;; and benchmarks shaping tourism demand and competitiveness. It also suggests approaches for expanding tourism in key Jordan governorates and secondary destination in ways that benefit local communities. According to the assessment;; Jordan is well-positioned to move from a regional;; multi-country tourist destination to a stand-alone destination with a portfolio of tourism products with year-round appeal for foreign and domestic visitors;; and this will require a long-term commitment from both public and private stakeholders. It suggests collaboration between Jordan's government and private sector;; localized and inclusive economic development implementation strategies and increase in the supply of skilled tourism workforce professionals.

Jobs are crucial for individual well-being. They provide a livelihood and;; equally important;; a sense of dignity. They are also crucial for collective well-being and economic growth. However;; the rules and the incentives that govern labor markets in MENA countries have led to inefficient and inequitable outcomes on the personal and collective standpoint. Several underlying distortions prevent a more productive use of human capital and have led to a widespread sense of unfairness and exclusion;; of which the Arab Spring was a powerful expression.

The assessment report is a final product of the Asia and Middle East Economic Growth Best Practices project (AMEG);; which is designed to support USAID missions in developing effective and efficient economic growth programs that address technical and strategic challenges. The report provides an introduction to Jordan's macroeconomic performance and structure and examines the field assessment's key lines of inquiry such as fiscal environment;; taxation;; customs and trade facilitation;; the energy sector;; policy analysis and political economic environment. It identifies the structure and performance of each inquiry and adds policy;; administrative;; and institutional environment;; and its challenges and opportunities.The report's concluding section outlines key challenges and opportunities;; and offers recommendations. Some of the findings include Jordan's lack of robust forum for soliciting and integrating input on economic policy issues from key stakeholders or the wider public and lack of institutional capacity to develop macroeconomic models. The report suggests facilitating national dialogue and consensus building on economic policy issues and building capacity to integrate stakeholder input.