Etudes par pays volume 2, PDF, 346 p., 1,4 Mo - Femise

11873_2002 Study D2: Poverty, Informal Sector, Health and Labour
69 for males and 71 for females in 1999 (DOS, 1999). Due to the increase in
number of doctors and assistants staff, the number of inhabitants per doctor
decreased from about 2,480 in 1973 to about 506 in 1999, and that per nurse
from about 870 in 1973 to about 334 in 1999.
However, these services have been provided, in addition to the Ministry of
Health, by both the private sector and the military through 84 hospitals with
8,726 beds (population/bed ratio is 566 persons/bed), and comprehensive
health centers (46), primary health centers (335), peripheral health centers
(266), and maternity and childhood centers (337).
5.2. Correlations between poverty, health, crime and other
development indicators in the last decade
During the last decade, poverty became the major issue for policy-makers
and to society. Crime incidence witnessed some increase following the first
Gulf War and the return of 300,000 Jordanians, most of whom were born
and raised outside Jordan. In addition, health services started to face
increasing pressure.
These three phenomena are interrelated, but poverty remains the father of all
evil. Most of the studies that deal with poverty in Jordan reported a bad
health situation in the poor communities, and the relation between health
and poverty can go in both directions. Poverty produces poor health
condition, and bad health conditions (serious disease or bad injuries) can
drive semi- or near poor individuals and their families under the poverty
line.
Thanks to strong government commitment for socio-economic development
for protecting Jordan from the hazardous effects of such phenomena, Jordan
developed a social protection net, to protect the poor from the negative
impacts of such a program. Cash assistance to the poor, training and
retraining programs play a major role in this regard. Of course, these
reforms have strong impacts on the low-income groups in Jordanian society,
and many steps need to be taken in this regards.
As for crime, it is well known theoretically that poverty and unemployment
can be motives for committing crimes. In Jordan, criminal statistics show
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