Jordan

The Van Leer Foundation began building partnerships in Jordan in 2016 to support displaced families in the region. In 2021, we opened a country office that brings an early years focus into policies, public spaces and services in Jordan. Currently, early childhood services in Jordan remain fragmented, with government responsibility split across several ministries – health, social development and education.

We are dedicated to advancing our support for early childhood development policies, actively coordinating efforts and staying well informed about the evolving landscape across various ministries. This commitment ensures that we remain at the forefront of policy innovation and implementation.

We choose to invest in parent coaching and support to encourage more positive interactions between parents and children and between professionals and parents. To strengthen behaviour change interventions in the country, we work closely with the Queen Rania Foundation who bring rigorous and evidence-based behavioural science approaches into our programmes with government partners.

We also aim to encourage positive caregiving behaviours in outdoor spaces but recognise that many children and caregivers in Jordan’s urban areas spend much of their time indoors – in homes, nurseries, restaurants and shopping centres due to air pollution, heat and a lack of suitable public spaces for families.

Cutting across all of our work with diverse partners is our goal to raise awareness of the need to invest more comprehensively in a range of early years interventions. To embed this approach, we are also collaborating with different government and national stakeholders to create effective governance and policy coordination across all sectors and levels of government.