AMMAN —
UNHCR revealed “disturbing” figures on the
status of refugees in Jordan, saying at least half of the refugee families
registered with the UN refugee agency are unable to afford paying their
apartment rent, Al-Mamlaka TV reported.
اضافة اعلان
It quoted
UNHCR’s Spokesperson Meshal Al-Fayez attributing the information to a study
conducted by the agency a week ago, and that its results have been published
recently.
The results
showed that many refugees are unable to secure housing, and that half of
Jordan’s refugee families have difficulty covering their monthly electricity
bills. Therefore, they are at a risk of losing the crucial power service.
In view of the
economic crunch, the study said that several refugee families had to take the
tough decision of forcing their children to drop out of schools and enter the
labor market, to help their household with living expenses.
“About 85
percent of households had to reduce their daily portions of food to make ends
meet until the end of every month,” Fayez said.
He asserted that
the figures are concerning, and it must send a clear signal to donor countries
and entities to accelerate procedures for disbursing funds to avoid slipping
into another humanitarian crisis.
Funding received
by UNHCR so far reached 37 percent of the amount needed to cover programs
offered to refugees in Jordan, Fayez added.
Due to the low
and delayed funding from some entities, the UNHCR appeals to the international
community to accelerate funds of some $34 million through the end of the year
to cover monthly cash assistance programs for medical services to families
which need treatment in Jordanian hospitals, according to Fayez.
He said that the
UNHCR provides monthly cash assistance to families most in need. About 30,000 refugee families receive a
modest amount of money every month that helps them with their daily lives, he
explained. But given the current cost of living, high electricity prices and
post-pandemic economic conditions, as well as the loss of jobs for many
Syrian refugees, refugees are facing increased difficulties, and are in urgent need of
extra assistance.
In a related
development, a study on Jordan’s refugee situation in the second quarter of
2022, involving 2,963 families, showed that 95 percent of Syrian refugee
families and 94 percent of non-Syrian refugees did not have the money to pay
their bills.
The UNHCR said
that 25 percent of family providers that were included in the study are either
disabled, or suffer a chronic disease that impacts their ability to take up
jobs.
Participants in
the study were asked the question of whether or not they have been able to pay
for certain services and commodities, during the last quarter of 2021, and 54
percent of the participants in the study of Syrians replied that they were
unable to pay electricity bills, another group of non-Syrian refugees said the
same.
More than
one-third of the families participating in the study described the financial
situation as worse, when compared to last year’s situation. A majority among
them believes that the future financial situation will be even worse.
The UNHCR warned
of a humanitarian crisis occurring in Jordan within months, if the needed
financial aid failed to materialize.
The UNHCR is
currently in need of $34 million to implement its basic health and financial
programs, until the end of the year.
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