His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Presents Inaugural Awards for Physical Fitness Program Modeled after U.S. President’s Awards

October 11, 2006 - On August 30, 2006, His Majesty King Abdullah II honored the first recipients of the King Abdullah II Award for Physical Fitness, a soon-to-be-nationwide program to encourage healthy lifestyles among Jordanian youth, modeled after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Presidential Fitness and Sports Awards.

On a visit to the United States in late 2004, King Abdullah recalled his fond memories of having participated in the Presidential Fitness Awards when he attended school in this country, and expressed an interest in starting a similar program in Jordan. Then-HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson responded by asking Departmental experts to consult on the Jordanian project, led by Melissa Johnson, the Executive Director of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Current Secretary Michael O. Leavitt and his Deputy Secretary Alex M. Azar II, have endorsed and continued support for this project, with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Amman. The HHS experts met with the Jordanian Royal Health Awareness Society, the Jordanian Ministries of Health and Education, and representatives from the Royal Court to design the program over the course of 2005. The program made its debut last year as a pilot project in 144 Jordanian schools, and is expected to reach all schools across the country by 2009. On a trip to Amman in July 2006, Deputy Secretary Azar presented the Jordanian Government with the positive results of an HHS evaluation of the Pilot Phase of the Awards Program.

Last revised: August 17, 2007