64% of Syrian refugees in Jordan are poor, living on less than 15 dirhams a day!
The results of the vulnerability assessment of Syrian refugees in Jordan showed that about 64% of them are poor, living on less than 3 dinars (less than 15 UAE dirhams) per day.
The assessment, which was announced at a press conference yesterday at the headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is the product of cooperation between UNHCR and the World Bank on “refugee resilience,” showed that despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the evidence indicates that the living conditions of refugees are improving, as Most families managed their own income.
According to the assessment, most refugees are still on the verge of falling into poverty, with 90% of refugee families saying they use at least one negative coping strategy, such as limiting food intake or purchasing household goods on credit, in order to go on with their daily lives. .
Commenting on the results of the survey, UNHCR Representative in Jordan Dominic Bartsch said: "We stand at a crossroads in responding to refugees in Jordan."
“The improvement in the refugee situation reflects the impact of our collective efforts over the past years, however this can easily be reversed, as refugees remain vulnerable and more needs to be done to support their self-reliance,” Bartsch added.
He pointed out that the 2022 Vulnerability Assessment Framework is a comprehensive and rich analysis of refugees, noting that this analysis is usually conducted every two years, although the last assessment has been delayed due to the pandemic.
Using the international poverty line of $5.5, (equivalent to about 15 UAE dirhams), the data show that “without assistance, three quarters of refugees would be poor, and thanks to assistance, the percentage drops to 64 percent.”
Evidence has shown that camp residents are improving in areas such as health and education, but due to a lack of employment opportunities, they rely more on humanitarian aid, and 52 percent of families outside the camp reported that they have access to income from work compared to 25 percent in refugee camps.
The results, both in and outside the camps, showed that employing one family member is not enough to meet the monthly household needs, and as a result, the number of Syrian refugee families in debt increased by 39% compared to 2018.
The assessment indicated that the increase in debt has a negative impact on living standards, pointing out Refugees living in non-camp settings are increasingly likely to live in unsafe homes in substandard conditions, most refugees do not have a written rental agreement and nearly 20% of those surveyed have received a threat of eviction in 2021.
On the more positive side, 80% of refugee children attended school over the past year - despite the challenges of distance education - while child labor remains minimal.
In the field of health, more needs to be done to ensure that the most vulnerable families receive the support they need, and compared to 2018, there was a 13% increase in the number of Syrian refugees who needed medical care but were unable to access it.
The number of registered Syrian refugees in Jordan is 760,000, and only 17% of them live in refugee camps, and the rest live in towns and cities across the kingdom.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news