Head of Pulmonary and Critical Care Department at King Hussein Cancer Center, Dr. Feras Hawari, has warned of an increase in non-communicable diseases among Jordanians, based on data issued by the World Health Organization.

Hawari added that any increase in these ratios would also increase the pressure on the health budget, which is annually estimated at about 9 percent of gross domestic product.

This number is double the number of which Gulf countries spend and is equal to what the U.K spends on health.

Diseases that are expected to increase are heart diseases, diabetes, cancer, and respiratory diseases, Hawari said.

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition