UK helps sustain UNHCR’s cash programme for the most vulnerable refugees

AMMAN — A Syrian family is facing an eviction threat for not being able to pay their rent in Zarqa. A Yemeni couple who are not allowed to work but need to pay the electricity bill in Amman. A Somali widow who needs to buy medicine for her family. 

All these refugees need UNHCR’s cash assistance to cover their basic needs. The cash programme that reaches some of the most vulnerable refugees in Jordan just received a major contribution by UK aid, which allows UNHCR to sustain the cash assistance, according to a statement for The Jordan Times.

23,000 of the poorest refugee families in the villages and towns across Jordan continue to be supported by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, with cash for basic needs. On average, a family receives a bit over JD4 per day (nearly 6 $), the statement said. 

"While the amount is insufficient to cover all their basic needs, it is a lifeline for those who cannot make ends meet: 94 per cent of recipients declared that UNHCR’s cash assistance had improved their overall well-being. As they spend it on rent, food and medicine, it supports the local economy across Jordan."

“We are grateful for UK’s increased contribution, the highest in several years, and to other donors that allow us to sustain this vital lifeline for refugees”, UNHCR’s Representative, Maria Stavropoulou, was quoted in the statement as saying. 

UK’s Development Minister Anneliese Dodds had announced seven million British Pound (nearly US$9M) for UNHCR when she visited Jordan and listened to Syrian refugee women on one of her first trips abroad as a Minister earlier this month.

“Our funding situation has slightly improved, but we are not out of the woods”, UNHCR’s Stavropoulou added. “I hope this is a turning point, and other donors follow UK’s exemplary generosity.” Until the end of the year, UNHCR still needs 15.9 M $ for its cash programme alone. The Agency has redoubled its efforts to mobilize support, not least from Gulf countries, the statement said.