Working to improve the living conditions of vulnerable communities in Jordan

My work is grounded in a long-standing commitment to advancing sustainable development for less fortunate and vulnerable communities, particularly those living at the intersection of climate stress, poverty, and limited infrastructure.

My expertise lies in developing context-sensitive, engineering-led solutions that respond not only to environmental challenges, but also to the socio-economic realities that shape people’s daily lives directly contributing to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10: Reduced Inequalities by prioritizing underserved and marginalized populations.

Jordan is my home country, and I am currently based there. My academic and professional experience includes extensive engagement with poverty-pocket communities, less fortunate communities and particularly mobile populations whose livelihoods are closely tied to seasonal agricultural cycles. These groups often migrate between locations during summer and winter planting seasons, a form of climate-sensitive mobility that places them in highly precarious conditions. Such mobility exacerbates exposure to extreme temperatures, water scarcity, substandard living environments, and inadequate access to basic sanitation services. This has significantly informed my research focus on developing sustainable, climate-resilient, and socio-economically grounded interventions for vulnerable communities.

Women are particularly vulnerable in this environment

Through my fieldwork, I have also witnessed how the lack of sanitation infrastructure disproportionately affects women. During early morning hours and more severely at night women often struggle to find privacy in environments that are completely dark and lack basic services such as lighting. In one of my visits, a woman explained that she felt compelled to ask her husband or brother to accompany her whenever she needed to open defecation, due to fears related to safety, exposure, and dignity. She also recounted an incident in which she encountered a snake while attempting to relieve herself in harsh climatic conditions while living with her family. Such experiences illustrate how the absence of safe sanitation, lighting, and secure infrastructure significantly heightens women’s vulnerability compared to men, exposing them to physical danger, psychological stress, and loss of dignity. These lived realities underscore the urgent need for gender-responsive, climate-resilient sanitation solutions that prioritize safety, privacy, and dignity as integral components of sustainable development.

We’re addressing sanitation and water access as a climate adaptation challenge through this work, which directly advances SDG 13: Climate Action, strengthening resilience for communities most affected by climate variability and environmental stress.

Working with Bradford and bridging the Global North-South gap

This work has led to my role as an Honorary Visiting Researcher at the University of Bradford, and this relationship enables me to actively bridge knowledge, research capacity, and innovation between the Global South and the Global North. This role enables the translation of global research excellence into locally grounded, socially responsive interventions. This integrated approach is exemplified in the Royal Academy of Engineering–funded project Enhancing Capabilities of Engineering Safety Practices by Using Emerging Technology in Sanitation Infrastructure: Prototype of Mobile Latrine in Poverty Pockets in Jordan (E-ESTS), where I am the Principal Investigator from Jordan, working alongside Prof Daniel Neagu as Principal Investigator from the UK (University of Bradford), with academic partnership from both the University of Bradford and the University of Salford. The project focuses on designing, developing, and testing a climate-resilient mobile sanitation solution for poverty-pocket communities in the Southern Ghor District of Jordan, directly contributing to SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation by improving access to safe, inclusive, and dignified sanitation services.

Creating user-centred design solutions

By integrating water-efficient technologies, sustainable waste management systems, and user-centered design, the project delivers a sanitation solution that is both practical and context-appropriate under severe resource constraints. In simple terms, this means designing a mobile latrine that uses minimal water, incorporates safe containment and treatment of human waste (including options for converting waste into reusable by products where feasible), and can operate independently of fixed water or sewer networks. The design prioritizes ease of use, safety, and low maintenance, ensuring that the unit can be managed locally without reliance on continuous external servicing.

Respecting cultural norms is a critical aspect of the design, including ensuring privacy and gender sensitivity, such as enclosed structures, internal locking mechanisms, and design features that allow women and girls to use the facilities safely at all times of day and night. It also involves aligning the layout, orientation, and usage practices of the latrine with local customs related to religious, modesty, family structure, and daily routines, so that the facilities are socially acceptable and dignified for users.

Beyond the physical infrastructure, the project adopts a community-driven methodology that actively involves local stakeholders, non-governmental organisations, and end-users throughout the design, prototyping, and testing phases. Community members are consulted on design features, usability, and safety concerns, and their feedback is incorporated into iterative improvements. This participatory approach ensures that the final solution is not only technically sound but also trusted, accepted, and maintained by the community, thereby supporting long-term usability, ownership, and social sustainability. 

Through this work, we’re demonstrating how engineering innovation anchored in SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action) can improve public health, protect livelihoods, and enhance human dignity, while exemplifying the transformative potential of Global South–Global North collaboration in addressing complex climate and development challenges.

Future plans

As an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Bradford, my future plans focus on strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration across engineering, architecture, computing, sustainability, and the social sciences. I aim to embed community-led methodologies into technological innovation, positioning digital tools such as participatory mapping, AI, and digital twins not as top-down solutions, but as enablers of grassroots agency, particularly for women in informal settlements and post-crisis contexts across Jordan and the wider MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. This role allows me to actively bridge knowledge between the Global South and Global North, ensuring that technological development is informed by lived realities, socio-economic constraints, and ethical considerations.

Alongside this role, I am currently working with Dr Jacobo Elies Gomez and Prof Daniel Neagu on international research bid (Horizon Europe health-stream). The proposal is examining how climate change impacts low- and middle-income countries and contributes to climate-driven migration to Europe, with downstream effects on European healthcare systems.

I am also involved in an AHRC bid with Brazil focused on eco-innovation, territorial governance, and local development for food security, as well as additional conference and networking proposals aimed at addressing digital inequalities and closing knowledge gaps between the Global South and Global North. Collectively, this work aligns with my broader commitment to socially oriented, climate-responsive research that integrates technological innovation with equity, resilience, and sustainable development.