O
FID recently hosted a roundtable at its Vienna headquarters to discuss policy options to address the interrelated challenges associated with development, refugees and international protection, and host communities. Working in partnership
with ICMPD, OFID gathered key stakeholders from governmental institutions in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, international organizations and the donor community to focus on the ‘development-displacement’ nexus. Host country stakeholders engaged on their needs and discussed
how these needs can better align with protection-oriented policies directed toward refugee populations and host communities. Attendees also gave positive feedback on how better to implement development perspectives into humanitarian responses to refugees. The OFID Quarterly talked with some of the attendees…
FEDA FALEH GHARAIBEH Director, Humanitarian Relief Coordination Unit, Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Jordan “The population of Jordan is around 9.5 million. Of these, 3.6 million are refugees, including 1.3 million Syrians*. They have access to free education, they receive subsidized healthcare and obviously consume resources (the consumption of water has increased significantly and the annual water share per person has dropped). The quality of services has been driven down. At the same time, competition for employment is also up. The unemployment rate in Jordan is extremely high – around 18 percent – and unemployment among Jordanian youth is at more than 30 percent. This is a record high. Conditions are critical. There is a lot of
pressure on citizens and the government. We are being asked to improve our situation by the IMF**. Courageous decisions need to be made without adversely impacting Jordanians. In parallel to all the reforms needed, the social protection of Jordanians needs to be improved. This is why the government of Jordan is keen to ensure the international community steps in and invests in our social programs – mainly the National Aid Fund – to enable the fund to expand the base of beneficiaries and ensure the poverty
Estimated refugees as percentage of population:
Jordan: Lebanon: 40
38% 40%
*According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Jordan is host to 673,414 Syrian registered refugees. The Jordan government’s figure may be higher because of the inclusion of Syrians in Jordan before 2011 and other different measurement techniques.
**The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has repeatedly urged the international community and regional donors to shoulder more of the burdens of Jordan’s hosting of over a million Syrian refugees and providing security in the region, all of which have placed extraordinary strains on its public finances. The IMF also states that Jordan’s public finances needs to remain underpinned by broadening the tax base so the burden is broadly shared, including by removing large tax exemptions on income and sales taxes.
*** United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is the mandated agency for assistance and protection of Palestinian refugees. The agency is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. UNRWA also receives some funding from the Regular Budget of the United Nations, which is used mostly for international staffing costs.
cut in support for education, healthcare,
“If there is a
shelter etcetera, the government will bear this burden”
rate does not increase further. Another concern is funding for UNRWA*** – the highest number of refugees are Palestinians, so if there is a cut in support for education, healthcare, shelter etcetera, the government will bear this burden. All these factors add up to a major challenge.
We hope we can reach some solutions with the help of the international community. I am here to highlight this situation and to urge the international community to continue to support Jordan – we need investment to create more jobs and to stimulate growth (currently less than 2 percent) and enable the government to continue with its reform program.”
PHOTO: BalkansCat/
Shutterstock.com
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