Resource Library

Jordan ORS Case Study

Dehydration due to diarrhea was a substantial cause of childhood mortality in Jordan until the early 1980s, when infrastructure improvements in drinking water and solid waste sanitation greatly reduced the incidence of diarrheal diseases. Scale-up involved funding and technical support from UNICEFand USAID’s Technologies for Primary Health Care program (PRITECH), with high level support from the Ministry of Health (MoH). This case study examines the scale up efforts in Jordan, including the country context, distribution activities, scale-up approach, and impact. The case study examines product development, marketing campaign results, regulatory issues, improving provider knowledge, supply and financing.  It found that although diarrhea was a common illness among children in Jordan, it was no longer considered a serious problem . Awareness of ORS has remained nearly universal since the ORS scale-up, but is currently used in only 20% of childhood diarrhea cases.