Salma Jaouni is the Chief Executive Officer of the Health Care Accreditation Council since May 2012, the Arab region’s only independent not-for-profit organization that aims at improving the quality of healthcare services and promoting patient safety. Ms. Jaouni has been leading the HCAC in designing and providing capacity building services for healthcare professionals and accreditation of schemes for health and social care organizations to ensure the continuous provision and improvement of quality services. Ms. Jaouni has also overseen HCAC reap the fruits of its impact on beneficiaries, reaching out to the public and establishing itself as the hub of expertise on standards development, quality improvement tools, and programs as well as research.
Prior to Joining the HCAC Ms. Jaouni was the Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister of Jordan on public and social policy. Ms. Jaouni led the Prime Minister’s Agenda on health and education improvement, social development, youth engagement and public sector reform. She was instrumental in formulating and supporting the implementation of new government policies, programs & initiatives relating to the wellbeing of citizens while liaising with the relevant ministries and the Royal Court. Ms. Jaouni also led the team in creating and implementing the Prime Minister’s community outreach and field visits in tandem with the existing environment including but not limited to town hall meetings, lectures, seminars, governorate visits, spot checks, and services assessment.
Ms. Jaouni was founding director/four-year manager of Jordan’s Breast Cancer Program (JBCP) – the National initiative dedicated to improving the quality, accessibility, and usability of screening services while raising awareness and educating the public. Ms. Jaouni designed the strategy and established the team to develop and institutionalize early detection and universal screening of breast cancer. Under her leadership, breast cancer was downstaged considerably in Jordan due to the success of early detection and raising awareness.
Prior to her work with the King Hussein Cancer Foundation, the host non-governmental organization for the JBCP, Ms. Jaouni worked with Booz Allen Hamilton as a senior consultant for the Middle East and Gulf regions on public policy projects. Ms. Jaouni has also held key positions with the World Bank and USAID consulting for governments in the Middle East on public health issues, poverty alleviation, employment strategies, and social development.
Ms. Jaouni holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, a Post Graduate Diploma in Health Systems Management from the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at the University of London and a Bachelor of Sciences degree from the American University of Beirut in environmental health in addition to an excellent track record in leadership, negotiation, and communication skills.
Ms. Jaouni serves as a director on several Boards including the Jordan Nursing Council, the High Population Council, and BabyCord Jordan. Ms. Jaouni is a recipient of several awards for leadership and is currently an International Society for Quality in Health Care expert.