Share Story
AMMAN - UNHCR Jordan is currently facing a $24 million deficit in the general budget needed to conduct this year’s humanitarian programmes for Syrian refugees residing in the Kingdom, according to UNHCR international media spokesperson, Roland Schoenbauer.
In a recent interview with The Jordan Times, Schoenbauer stressed the significant reduction in this year’s funding compared with previous contributions.
“The contributions are plummeting, the gap is widening; not just since August,” Schoenbauer said, commenting on an August funding report issued by the UN body. According to the report, this year’s lack of funding will likely have rippling consequences for Syrian refugees in addition to Jordan’s host communities.
The spokesperson emphasised that the coming winter season presents a new range of challenges for Syrian refugees, exacerbating the UNHCR’s budgetary requirements.
“We have a special situation every year in winter where we have an additional call for contributions,” he said, adding that this year, the UN body is calling for an additional $46 million necessary for fuel to heat refugees’ caravans and community homes, for purchasing weather-appropriate clothing, cash assistance and for other seasonally-specific needs.
“In total, we still have a gap of $70 million,” he said.
It is not only UNHCR Jordan suffering a lack of international humanitarian contributions, he added, but the entirety of aid to the Kingdom’s Syrian refugees is experiencing a decline that is at odds with realities on the ground.
Such realities include, worryingly, an increasing number of Syrian refugees taking on debt in order to cope with the rising costs of living that follow strain on Jordan’s limited resources. According to a recent UNHCR Jordan Vulnerability Assessment Report, the average Syrian refugee is JD343.1 in debt.
While UNHCR does grant much needed financial assistance to Syrian refugees registered with the body, there are now supplementary programmes being implemented in an attempt to combat the growing debt crisis.
“Vocational training for job opportunities is part of the solution to the high levels of debt,” Schoenbauer said. “We are pleased about the introduction of work permits for Syrian refugees, which even allow [up to] two part time jobs, which... gives stability to adapt to market needs and find their way through this difficult situation.”
In terms of factors external to UNHCR, the spokesperson stressed the necessity of an integrated, holistic approach for NGOs and government entities that work with refugees.
“In our view, it is really important that development agencies that offer opportunities for, or that invest in development in different areas, also take into account refugees in those areas,” Shoenbaur added.
“Just because there are other crises, this does not mean that Jordan has no need for assistance in the humanitarian area,” he said. “We support all efforts that make Jordan and its refugees more visible on the global scale.”
According to the government-issued Jordan Response Plan (JRP) 2020-2022, the Syrian refugee population in Jordan is expected to exceed the Jordanian population, as “the average number of children among Syrian women is 4.7, as compared with 2.6 among Jordanian women”.
Demand on the Kingdom’s energy sector is increasing in tandem with the population boom in the north. “Jordan has seen an increase in its energy consumption, especially for sustaining service provisions… and particularly in the northern governorates with a large refugee presence, with an additional increase of 2.08 per cent in the northern governorates compared with other governorates in Jordan,” according to the JRP.
“The gap is at such a size that a humanitarian crisis is around the corner if no action is taken,” he warned.
