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Jordan: UNHCR Operational Update, April 2017

Countries
Jordan
+ 2 more
Sources
UNHCR
Publication date

KEY FIGURES

657,621 Syrians registered with UNHCR in Jordan

62,445 Iraqis registered with UNHCR in Jordan

46,000 Work permits issued or renewed over the past year by the Government of Jordan to Syrians

93 Percentage of Syrians living outside of camps and below the poverty line in Jordan

78 Percentage of Syrians registered with UNHCR in refugee camps who are women and children

40 Percentage of the registered refugee population who received protection against the cold this winter from UNHCR

FUNDING

US $ 277 million requested for the Jordan Operation in 2017

HIGHLIGHTS

  • UNHCR in Jordan concluded its largest ever four-month winter response in March with a record 40 per cent of Kingdom’s most vulnerable refugees reached for assistance across camp and urban settings. A recent survey of refugees conducted by UNHCR confirmed the value of the one-off financial support aspect of the winterization package, helping refugees afford rent, cooking and heating gas. One female head of household told UNHCR that prior to the assistance she had been unable to pay for food for her family, while another had to borrow to buy a US $ 10 refill gas cylinder. Seven years into the crisis, most Syrian refugees in Jordan are engaged in a bitter struggle against poverty.

  • According to a recent UNHCR study, Jordan hosts the second largest number of refugees relative to the size of its population with 89 refugees for every 1,000 inhabitants. The study also highlights the considerable impact of Jordan’s refugee population on the country’s economy, grading it the eighth most severe among refugee-hosting countries. The Government of Jordan responded to the study by stating that it had reached “saturation point” with the influx of refugees, while UNHCR called for more cooperation and solidarity with countries neighbouring war-torn countries like Syria. Jordan remains the sixth largest refugee-hosting country in the world in terms of refugees registered.

  • UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp on 28 March where he appealed to the international community to step up efforts to address the Syria crisis or risk playing into the hands of extremist groups. “This is the moment to say that if the world fails to support refugees, the world is only helping those [extremist groups] that use these arguments in order to be able to recruit more people to put at risk our global security,” he said. “Solidarity with Syrian refugees is … not only an act of generosity, it’s an act of enlightened self-interest.” The camp is the largest of its kind in the region and currently host to 80,000 Syrian refugees.