UNHCR grants Jordan $2.48m to combat coronavirus

AMMAN — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday granted the Kingdom $2.48 million to support its intensive efforts to halt the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Wissam Rabadi and UNHCR Representative in Jordan Dominik Bartsch signed the grant agreement, worth $2.48 million, to support the Kingdom’s ministries and public institutions providing services for Jordanians and Syrian refugees, according to a ministry statement.

The minister said that the grant included $1.2 million of urgent funding to support the Health Ministry’s interventions to combat the epidemic, which requires scaling up all parties’ efforts to halt the virus outbreak in the Kingdom, the statement said.

The ministry will keep on coordinating with all donor countries and UN organisations to secure more support to fight this epidemic, the minister said, expressing appreciation to the UNHCR for the financial support offered to Jordan and noting that the agencyis a key partner in responding to humanitarian crises.