On 20 November 2013, a ceremony took place to sign the contract for a new wastewater reuse project in Jordan. The project contract was awarded to the University of Jordan based
Professor Ekhleif Tarawneh, President of the University of Jordan (l), and Dr Ahmad Basel Al-Yousfi, Director of CEHA on a meticulous technical and financial evaluation process of four proposals received from reputable entities. Proposals were received as a response to a request for proposals announced last July in local media and on the website of the WHO Centre for Environmental Health Action (CEHA). Proposals were received by 20 different entities.
During the contract signing, the president of the University of Jordan, Prof. Ekhleif Tarawneh, stated that despite their ongoing cooperation with the WHO on health and medical issues, this would be thea pioneer project on environment-health linkages. He also expressed his interest in further cooperation with WHO CEHA on several pressing environmental matters. The director of WHO CEHA, Dr Basel Al-Yousfi, highlighted the notable features of the proposal that had led to the successful selection of the University of Jordan. He also noted the importance of the accumulated experience present at the University of Jordan's Water and Environment Research and Study in Center (WERSC), in the area of wastewater reuse, for producing valuable outcomes and recommendations.
The project aims to apply the provisions of the WHO guidelines for the safe use of wastewater in agriculture at selected sites in Jordan. This includes a practical multi-barrier approach of practices and measures in several onsite and offsite locations aimed at reducing wastewater risks for health protection. Moreover, the stakeholders involved in monitoring and wastewater reuse practices will also be studied thoroughly to highlight enabling elements for adoption of the WHO guidelines. The results of the project will capitalize on the outcomes and recommendations of the pilot sites to provide a framework to implement the guidelines in the local context of Jordan.
This project is being implemented under the umbrella of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) climate change and human health adaptation project, which is a unique global initiative jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and WHO.
