Behnke, N., Shackelford, B.B., Dawood, A. et al. (8 more authors) (2024) The Evolution and Sustainability of Environmental Health Services in the Azraq Refugee Camp, Jordan: A Qualitative Study. Sustainability, 16 (17). 7758. ISSN 2071-1050
Abstract
The Syrian civil war displaced more than half of the Syrian population, including over 660,000 registered refugees who fled to neighboring Jordan. Environmental health services (e.g., water, sanitation, hygiene, and solid waste management) are critical for refugee health. Still, they may strain resources in host communities and must evolve in protracted crises. We studied environmental health services in the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan to identify the stakeholders and their roles in service provision, assess stakeholder communication and coordination, and evaluate sustainability. We conducted 25 interviews with stakeholders involved in environmental health service provision. We found that non-governmental and United Nations organizations had well-defined responsibilities, but the roles of donors, the Jordanian government, refugees, and the host community needed clarification. Conflicting standards and mismatched donor expectations with on-the-ground needs sometimes created challenges for coordinated and efficient service provision. The basic needs of refugees were generally met and services improved somewhat over time, but political obstacles and inadequate resources complicated the path toward sustainable services. Early incorporation of sustainability in planning and increased efforts to build the capacity of refugees to contribute and take ownership of environmental health services will likely enhance long-term environmental health service provision and development outcomes.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | refugees; Syria; Jordan; Middle East; water; sanitation; hygiene; WaSH; solid waste management; sustainability |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 06 Jan 2025 15:54 |
Last Modified: | 06 Jan 2025 15:54 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/su16177758 |
Related URLs: | |
Sustainable Development Goals: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:221333 |