AMMAN — On
December 1, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement
Olivér Várhelyi announced
a 164 million euro-grant to Jordan, 80 million euros of which are earmarked
towards Jordan Response Plan (JRP) for the Syria Crisis to alleviate the burden
of hosting Syrian refugees on Jordan’s economy, further strained by the
COVID-pandemic.
اضافة اعلان
Combined data from
the
UNHCR and the Ministry of Health show that 33 percent of refugees outside
Syrian refugee camps in Jordan have received the two shots of the COVID
vaccine, while 54 percent of refugees inside camps have taken the two doses,
according to UNHCR spokesperson Lilly Carlisle.
The
Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation’s quarterly report, released early
November, showed that the area of healthcare in the JRP received only 51
percent of its targeted funds, water and hygiene received approximately 40
percent of its funding needs, and the area of energy received the lowest
percentage of funding, coming in at a measly 18 percent.
Moreover, the
report states that Jordan had requested $240,626,050 for COVID-related funding
for Syrian refugees, but the ministry received only $9,950,037, whereas
Jordan’s efforts since the start of the pandemic involved provision of hygiene
kits, masks, and other essential medical equipment for the Syrian refugee
camps.
Any future JRP
must take into account that the
Syrian refugee crisis may not necessarily end
any time soon, particularly when noting the UNHCR’s position “that the
situation in Syria at present is too unsafe to enable a plan for their return,”
a crisis made more complex with the outbreak of COVID-19.
The quarterly
report shows that the most notable funders who invest in the essential needs of
the
JRP are foreign countries, including supranational organizations like the EU.
No international organizations are mentioned as being prominent funders for the
JRP, according to the report. Germany is the biggest funder, as it has invested
a total of $156,583,117 into the response plan, as of November 3, 2021.
Carlisle also told
Jordan News that it is important to
keep in mind that “the JRP doesn’t record development funding, and that it only
records humanitarian funding”. This means that there are certain types of
funding for refugees that the JRP does not explicitly mention, making it an important
consideration when evaluating the funding situation for the crisis.
Refugees with
disabilities are facing especially daunting challenges, Carlisle noted, since
their situation often puts them in a position of struggling “to find a job and
become self-reliant”. They are among a section of the Syrian population
residing in Jordan that will most likely need additional humanitarian aid for
years to come. However, Carlisle also clarified that “a majority of the refugee
population has been self-reliant”.
According to the
official document of the JRP for the years 2020–2022, compiled by the Ministry
of Planning, almost every single sector that the plan aims to address when it
comes to the refugee crisis is underfunded.
For instance, the
plan aimed to raise around JD712 million for Syrian refugee-related funding to
be invested in Jordan, but ended up receiving funding worth JD500 million — a
30 percent funding shortfall.
When it comes to
devising the next JRP, the Ministry of Planning intends to set its focus on the
financial impact of the crisis on the Treasury, especially after extensive
government efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus throughout in the
largest refugee camps, like the
Zaatari camp. Additionally, the plan aims to
strengthen online education and expand schools to accommodate increasing
numbers of refugees.
Read more National News
.jpg)
.jpg)
