Less than 6% of funding required under 2019 JRP received — ministry

AMMAN — Funding for the 2019 Jordan Response Plan (JRP), aimed at helping the Kingdom overcome challenges ensuing from the Syrian crisis, had only reached 5.7 per cent of the aid required under the scheme until June 23, according to the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.

Some $136.3 million was delivered out of a total of around $2.4 billion required for 2019 under the plan, according to data e-mailed to The Jordan Times from the Planning Ministry on Tuesday.

Of the total amount of aid received under the plan, $35.5 million was allocated to refugees,  $100.8 million to resilience, $38.9 million was allocated to livelihood support and $22.4 million as support for the health sector, according to the ministry.

Some $8.6 million was earmarked for social protection and some $63.6 million was allocated for supporting the education sector, according to the ministry’s statement.

Kuwait topped the list of countries committing funds to the plan, with $52.2 million, followed by Germany, which has provided $35.6 million so far.

Funds from the US reached $8.8 million, while Switzerland provided $5.3 million and Canada provided $4.7 million, according to the data.

The remainder of the assistance came from The Netherlands, Sweden, South Korea, Italy, France, Japan, Poland, Australia, Finland and the UK, among others.

“After more than eight years since the Syrian crisis, Jordan is in profound need to strengthen its already limited infrastructure that has been affected by the massive influx of refugees in order to ensure the continuity of providing services for them,” economist Mazen Irsheid told The Jordan Times, stressing on the need for continued support to the Kingdom.

Jordan and the international community in February endorsed a $2.4-billion JRP for the Syria crisis for the year 2019.

Of the funding requirements, $702.9 million was allocated for refugees, while $698.9 million was set to support the resilience of host communities and the remaining $998.2 million is assigned for budget support, the 2019 JRP details.

The JRP, which was formulated by governmental and international donor agencies, seeks to compensate Jordan for the burden it has shouldered due to regional crises. It aims at securing sufficient grants and concessional financing to address general budget needs over the next three years.