In 1977, at the request of His Majesty the late King Hussein, Princess Basma, established the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development. Chaired by Her Royal Highness, JOHUD was one of the earliest non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Jordan to address development issues at the national level. In 2000, Farah Daghistani took over JOHUD′s operational management as Executive Director. Today JOHUD is recognised as a pioneering, leading national advocate of sustainable, people-centred development, working in partnership with local communities and NGOs, Jordanian governmental institutions and other international agencies.

The strength of JOHUD′s work derives from its unique national outreach, which is consolidated through a network of 51 Community Development Centres (CDCs) spread throughout the country. JOHUD′s holistic approach is reflected in CDC programmes that incorporate early childhood development, public health, IT skills, gender mainstreaming, youth empowerment, income generation and the environment.

JOHUD′s CDCs are hubs for community-based advocacy and participation, which provide opportunities for grassroots governance to evolve, and where issues of local importance are raised and addressed in partnership with service providers, and other stakeholders