This report concerns the results of a survey on children’s literature and the promotion of reading in Palestine as represented by the West Bank and the Gaze Sector. Emphasis is placed on a number of axes regarding children’s literature;; including policies and legislation;; programs and institutions;; libraries;; elementary schools and universities;; and the publishing and distribution of children’s books. Upon analysis of the state of children’s literature in Palestine;; this report identifies certain trends regarding child culture. It also identifies a number of problems facing the promotion of reading among children;; including financial constraints;; the quality and availability of libraries;; and the overarching challenges influenced by Israel occupation.

This report surveys children’s literature in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the promotion of child literacy. The survey examines the promotion of children’s literature through various axis;; including official state policies;; the role of the private sector;; and the role of institutions and national programs in promoting child literacy. The report also examines Egypt’s childhood education system;; the quality and distribution of public libraries throughout Egypt;; and the nature of the publishing industry. Finally;; this report makes a number of recommendations which aim to further promote literacy among children in Egypt.

يلخص هذا التقرير نتائج مسح السكان والصحة الأسرية في الأردن عام 2012 الذي أجرته دائرة الاحصاءات العامة. ولقد نفذ المسح ضمن برنامج المسوح الديموغرافية والصحية الذي تم تصميمه من أجل جمع البيانات عن الانجاب وتنظيم والأسرة وصحة الأمهات والأطفال. ولقد قدمت مؤسسة ICF الدولية المساعدة الفنية لهذا المشروع من خلال برنامج المسوح الديموغرافية والصحية.

تعتبر هذه الدراسة مبادرة للإسهام في توفير قاعدة معرفية أكثر علمية للنظم والممارسات السائدة في القطاع العام بشأن عمليات دمج النوع الاجتماعي وآلياتها;; إضافة إلى أناه تسعى إلى القضاء على كافة أشكال التمييز ضد المرأة وتحقيق مشاركة فعالة لها تضمن لها حق العمل وااتخاذ القرار وتحقيق فرص متساوية ومتكافئة بين الجنسين بحيث تتلائم وطبيعة أدوارهم واحتياجاتهم. واعتمدت الدراسة على اسلوب المقابلات الفردية شبه المهيكلة والمقابلات الجماعية المركزة;; وتكون مجتمع الدراسة من الموظفين والموظفات العاملين في وزارة العمل والمديريات التابعة لها فيالمحافظات والبالغ عددهم 634.

The report aims to provide an executive summary and major results and accomplishments;; lessons learned and challenges and opportunities of the Jordan Healthcare Accreditation Project (JHAP). The overall goal of the JHAP was to improve the health status of all Jordanians and quality and safety of healthcare services through accreditation. The project's methodology was assisting the Government of Jordan to adopt a regulatory framework for the health sector;; through the establishment of national and internationally recognized healthcare standards and accreditation. The key results of the project include an organizationally and financially sustainable accrediting agency in Jordan;; the Health Care Accreditation Council (HCAC);; an HCAC board with the appropriate skills to govern the agency and support from the Ministry of Health;; the Royal Medical Services;; the university hospitals;; and the Royal Court for accreditation. The report concludes with recommendations for the HCAC in areas such as financial sustainability;; credibility of the organization;; keeping the momentum and new business development and innovation. Some opportunities that the report suggests include expanding in the Middle East and North Africa region;; partnering with well-known quality organizations;; offering courses online and benchmarking subscriptions.

This report provides an assessment of the Millennium Development Goals;; laid out by the UN Millennium Declaration. The UN Millennium Declaration was adopted in September of 2000 as a commitment on the part of the world's leading nations to reduce poverty;; improve health and promote peace;; human rights;; and environmental sustainability. The Millennium Development Goals are specific;; measurable targets that aim to reduce extreme global poverty by the year 2015. This report analyzes the challenges and barriers to meeting these goals as of 2003;; examining the successes and failures of various nations and the gaps that exist between regions and countries with regards to economic growth and human development. This report then examines the successes and failures of public and private policies with regards to hunger;; health;; water and sanitation;; education;; and environmental sustainability. This report also analyzes the participation of civil society throughout the world and the mobilization of grassroots support for the various human development goals. Finally;; this report presents a number of recommendations on what countries can do to best support these goals.

This report consists of eight chapters and aims to summarise the key concepts of human development. It introduces the Human Development Index;; provides an overview of Jordan's human development achievements;; examines the regional vulnerability context that has constrained Jordan's options in its pursuit of social and economic development;; provides a platform for the poor to express their views and perceptions in relation to their poverty status;; reviews the policies;; institutions and processes that affect the poor;; examines the government's attempts to stimulate entrepreneurialism;; promotes the application of a rights-based approach;; in which all citizen are equally empowered and have the capacity and the appropriate enabling environment that allows them to claim their entitlements according to law. Finally;; the study examines the various reform initiatives in progress and assesses the extent to which Jordan is committed to the process.

The USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project is the largest dedicated tourism development project implemented by the United States Agency for International Development. The final report for the project phase of 2008-2013 shares success stories of developing Jordan's tourism sector and increasing the number of visitors to the country according to the updated national strategy for the current period with new targets and implementation of actions. The report highlights the projects' achievements in supporting archaeological conservation of key sites such as Petra;; Madaba and Amman Citadel and improving the visitor experience in Jordan through an extenstive nationwide training program. The final report also includes the stories of those who benefitted from USAID's investment in tourism and the USAID tourism project's comprehensive sustainable tourism industry development approach.