Poverty Reduction Strategies and Health Outcomes: Jordan as a Case Study

Abstract

The relationship between poverty and ill health is very well established. One way to examine the link between poverty, or low socioeconomic status, and health is utilizing the social determinants of health framework. This chapter uses Jordan as a case study to assess this link and subsequently examine the health impact of Jordan’s current poverty reduction strategy. Despite the existing health inequalities between socioeconomic groups in Jordan, the social gradient of health inequalities is not addressed in public health policies in the country. As a result, this chapter assesses the potential contribution of the 2013–2020 Jordanian Poverty Reduction Strategy (JPRS) to health of the poor in Jordan. First, this chapter presents a conceptual framework examining linkages between poverty, ill health, and health inequalities. The framework is used to assess the potential health equity effects of the JPRS. In doing so, the analysis showed that for a poverty reduction strategy to contribute to improving health outcomes, it must include health system, socioeconomic, and structural-level interventions to break the link between poverty and ill health and subsequently reduce health inequalities. Second, this chapter presents the case for integration of targeted health interventions within a universal strategy. The strategy adopts explicitly targeted health intervention approaches such as healthy villages project (HVP) and conditional cash transfers (CCTs). Therefore, the JPRS may lead to individual-level health improvement on outcomes; however, at a population level, this impact is unclear. This chapter also presents the case for intersectoral collaboration and overemphasizes health sectoral policies go hand in hand with socioeconomic and structural interventions. Nevertheless, the JPRS can potentially act as a catalyst toward designing a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy that would benefit the health of the poor and result in the reduction of health inequalities in Jordan.