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The World Bank expects the poverty rate in Jordan to rise by 11%

Amman Today

publish date 2021-12-12 14:00:53

The Compass – Estimates of the World Bank indicated that the emergency cash transfer programs launched by the Jordanian government to support families affected by the Corona pandemic “reduced by about 4.5% of the increase in poverty rates resulting from the pandemic.”

The bank added, in data that “poverty in Jordan was relatively high, and increased significantly during the Corona pandemic,” explaining that “the official poverty rate in Jordan before the pandemic amounted to 15.7%.”

He continued, “Early estimates made last year indicated that the potential short-term increase in the national poverty rate may reach 11% for Jordanians; Because of the loss of work and income for families.”

“At the same time, many non-poor families are close to the poverty line and are at high risk of falling into poverty, with families dependent on informal work being particularly affected by the pandemic; This has pushed many into more poverty,” according to the bank.

The absolute poverty rate among Jordanians reached 15.7%, representing 1.069 million Jordanians, while the (extreme) hunger poverty rate in Jordan was 0.12%, equivalent to 7,993 Jordanian individuals, according to the latest survey on family income and expenditures carried out by the Department of Statistics (2017-2018). ).

The Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Nasser Al-Shraideh, estimated the poverty rate in Jordan at 24% “interim,” an increase of about 6%; due to the repercussions of the Corona virus.

On June 25, 2020, the World Bank approved the first phase of a $374 million cash transfer project to provide cash assistance to 270,000 poor families in Jordan.

In June 2021, the Bank agreed to provide additional financing for the $290 million cash transfer project, which aims to help families and workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; Thus, raising the total value of the project to 664 million dollars.

Additional financing for the project

The World Bank is considering providing a second additional financing, worth $322 million, to the emergency cash transfer project for families and workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Jordan. This raises the total funding for the project to $986 million if the new funding is approved.

According to data seen by the Kingdom, the additional financing project “is still under study, and it is expected to be approved by the Bank’s Board of Directors on February 24, 2022.”

The project, which was approved for the benefit of the National Aid Fund, aims to provide cash support to poor and vulnerable families and workers affected by the Corona pandemic in Jordan, as part of the government’s “Takaful 3” and “Estidama” programs, which target about 160,000 families within the framework of the “Takaful” program. And more than 100,000 workers within the framework of the (Sustainability) program.”

The proposed project will work first to increase the allocations for the cash transfer program (Takaful 1) by about $293 million to expand the number of beneficiaries from it starting in 2022, and secondly to increase allocations to support workers in companies affected by Corona by about $28 million through the “Sustainability” program.

The additional financing modified the project period, extending the original loan closing date by 12 months (from December 31, 2023, to December 31, 2024).

The bank indicated that “the government is working on a plan to integrate all cash transfers under the (Takaful) umbrella; To support poor and vulnerable families in the post-pandemic stage, emergency programs will be suspended in 2022 with an increase in the budget and the number of beneficiaries under the Supplementary Support Program (Takaful) by more than 30,000 families; This will lead to an increase in the coverage of social assistance programs in Jordan with a significant impact on poverty.”

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Source : اخبار الاردن

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