Jordan

Initiatives’ staff supporting the Jordan Health Systems Strengthening Project:

Ibrahim Aqel, MSc., Management Task Manager

As the Management Task Manger for HSS, Ibrahim Aqel is leading project efforts in building management capacity for higher and middle management at the Ministry of Health. The goal is to develop and institutionalize operational planning and supportive supervision systems at the health directorate level to enhance service delivery at the primary health care level. Mr. Aqel is developing tools for planning and supervision, conducting trainings, and monitoring the progress of the health directorates.

Mr. Aqel has experience in management in the pharmaceuticals industry and medical supplies field, and has worked as a management consultant and trainer. He holds an undergraduate nursing degree and a B.S. in engineering, as well as a Masters degree in management/marketing, and is finishing his Ph.D. in management.

Safa Halaseh, B.S., Health Promotion Expert

Ms. Halaseh has been with Initiatives since 2004, providing short- and long-term consultancies on a variety of projects in Jordan, most recently serving as Project Manager for the Jordan Human Resources Project. As the Program Manager for the Health Systems Strengthening Project, Ms. Halaseh has reviewed and reported on the assessment tools for the MOH’s health promotion program.  She will continue to participate in the development of the health promotion and community health program, including assisting with development of the community-level primary health care training plan and contributing to the development of community guidelines.

Ms. Halaseh began her career as a dietician and has moved into the policy realm, focusing on youth and health promotion issues, and has published several papers and articles.

Osama Samawi, M.D., Senior Task Manager for Quality

Dr. Osama is the Senior Task Manager for Quality with the Jordan HSS Project.  In this role, he is responsible for planning, coordinating, and facilitating the implementation of HSS efforts to institutionalize quality and performance improvement systems to sustain a continuous quality improvement process at all levels of the Jordanian health care system.

As a board-certified physician in community and health management since 1980, Dr. Osama has experience in senior hospital management and has extensive experience as an advisor to WHO and other international agencies on quality assurance and hospital administration. He has worked in the Jordan Ministry of Health and as a lecturer in health management at the Jordan Medical Council. In addition to being fluent in Arabic and English, Dr. Osama has professional working knowledge of Russian.