‘Cabinet approves projects worth $15.9m to ease refugee burden’

AMMAN — The Cabinet has approved a package of donor-funded projects to help Jordanian communities cope with the influx of Syrian refugees, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury announced on Saturday.

Fakhoury recommended the projects to the Cabinet on July 3, and said they would ease the socio-economic pressures on host communities and support government-provided services, according to a ministry statement.

The funds will finance social protection work and provide cash assistance to combat poverty, the minister said. 

Other projects include the distribution of food parcels to impoverished Jordanian and Syrian households and the improvement of water and sewage networks, he added, while mobility aids would be provided to people with disabilities.  

Additional classrooms will be built and maintenance will be carried out in schools, Fakhoury said, and specialised clinics will improve care for newborn babies in refugee camps and towns. 

Moreover, better reproductive medical services will be provided to Syrian women, according to the statement. 

The projects were proposed by donors, UN agencies and NGOs as part of the Jordan Response Plan (JRP) to the Syrian crisis.

Fakhoury chairs a coordination committee for humanitarian assistance that handles projects suggested by donors and international partners through the Jordan Response Information System for the Syria Crisis.  

In its ninth meeting this year, the coordination committee approved foreign funding for nine projects at a total cost of $15.9 million (JD11.2 million) as part of the JRP, the ministry statement said. 

In total, some 142 projects worth $257 million have been proposed this year, including 109 projects dedicated to refugees at a cost of $151 million, as well as 33 projects worth $106 million that seek to increase the resilience of host communities, according to the ministry. 

Some $97 million has been earmarked for social protection work, while projects worth $40 million focus on education. 

The ministry added that $38.5 million has been allocated for water projects, $38 million for health, $17 million for livelihood and food security, $13 million for municipal services and $13.5 million for judicial services, sheltering and other projects.

During the London donor conference in February, donors pledged $700 million a year to fund priority projects in the JRP, the ministry said.