The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jordan has received only 34% of its financial requirements for the fiscal year 2023, with two-thirds of the year already passed. The agency is now expressing concerns about a looming humanitarian crisis due to a decline in international funding.
According to a recent report, UNHCR in Jordan has received $131.949 million out of a total of $390.110 million needed, as of August 31, 2023. This means that the agency has received approximately $3.189 million in the past half-month.
The funding gap for UNHCR’s financial requirements has reached $258.161 million, accounting for 66% of the total requirements.
In July, the UNHCR warned of “serious consequences for refugees” if the current funding crisis is not addressed. The World Food Programme (WFP) also announced a one-third reduction in monthly assistance for all Syrian refugees in the Zaatari and Azraq camps, totaling around 129,000 refugees.
Furthermore, the Jordanian Ministry of Interior has indicated that financial aid to Syrian refugees residing in Jordanian refugee camps is expected to cease starting from October, with similar expectations for refugees outside the camps as of early September.
Jordan is hosting approximately 59,000 registered Iraqi refugees under the UNHCR’s mandate, as well as over 1.3 million Syrian refugees since the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011. Among them are approximately 655,000 registered Syrian refugees with the UNHCR. The agency reports a total of 733,943 registered refugees from various nationalities, excluding Palestinian refugees under UNRWA’s mandate, as of August 16, 2023.
