Irbid: The Irbid Health Directorate has launched a mobile screening unit dedicated to providing health tests for Jordanian workers and individuals from other nationalities in the northern region. Dr. Arafat Alawneh, the Assistant Director of Irbid Health for Medical and Technical Affairs, announced the initiative, which aims to enhance public health and alleviate pressure on local hospitals.
According to Jordan News Agency, the mobile unit will be stationed at Al-Hassan Industrial City and is designed to conduct screenings for tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, syphilis, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. The unit, donated by the International Organization for Migration to the Ministry of Health, serves as a convenient solution by saving workers the time and effort of traveling to hospitals for mandatory annual tests.
Dr. Fayez Beshtawi, Head of the Chest Diseases and Expatriate Health Department at the Irbid Health Directorate, explained that the decision to launch the mobile unit at Al-Hassan Industrial City was due to its significant workforce, comprising over 40,000 Jordanian and non-Jordanian workers. The unit's team, which includes a radiology technician, a laboratory technician, and a physician, will operate three days a week from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is equipped with an artificial intelligence device specifically for tuberculosis detection.
Dr. Alawneh projected that the unit has the capacity to perform approximately 1,000 tests monthly. The service extends the directorate's reach to remote and underserved areas, facilitating the detection and prevention of communicable diseases, including tuberculosis, thereby supporting the Ministry of Health's efforts in disease control and prevention.