56% of Syrian refugee households are food secure — report

AMMAN — Approximately 56 per cent of Syrian refugee households in Jordan are food secure, according to a report released Wednesday.

The Comprehensive Food Security Monitoring Exercise (CFSME) said the low level of food insecurity among the Syrian population in the Kingdom is mostly due to the World Food Programme’s (WFP) assistance, which reaches 98 per cent of the registered Syrian refugees in host communities.

According to the latest UNHCR figures, there are 606,000 registered Syrian refugees in Jordan.

CFSME, conducted by WFP, covered some 8,000 Syrian households and aimed to assess the food security situation and identify the vulnerability criteria for registered Syrian refugee households living among Jordanian host communities to be used with the planned move to a more targeted approach. 

Data collection took place in host communities in all 12 governorates and 48 districts of Jordan. 

In addition, the Zaatari Refugee Camp was surveyed for comparison purposes, according to the assessment, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan Times.

“Given the high level of vulnerability amongst the Syrian refugee population in Jordan, continued food assistance is a main need, given 85 per cent would not have sufficient access to food were WFP to cease assistance,” the report said.

It added that mid-term solutions are needed to decrease reliance on WFP food assistance and promote self-reliance, as well as further investigations into why 21 per cent of households have at least one non-registered member. 

The report also recommended improving child nutrition and maternal care practices to enhance dietary diversity and improve accessibility to healthcare services.