The Compass – 75% of the Kingdom’s population struggles to meet basic needs such as food and rent, while this percentage rises among the most vulnerable groups to 85%, according to a report by the Regional Plan for Refugees and Resilience 3RP.

The report added that 2% of refugee families could meet their basic food needs “without any harmful coping strategies.”

The Household Income and Expenditure Survey, which was carried out for the year 2017-2018, revealed that there are one million poor Jordanians in the Kingdom, and this number means that there are 208.3 thousand poor Jordanian families (the size of the family is 4.8 individuals). The family income and expenditure survey figures indicated that 6% of Jordanian families estimated their average expenditure at 5,291 dinars annually (about 441 dinars per month), which are the families that are classified among the “poorest.” These families constitute 10% of the Kingdom’s population.

The report of the refugee plan was titled “Social Cohesion – An Overview of Host Community and Refugee Dynamics in the Context of the 3RP Response Plan”, and stressed that social cohesion has become an increasing priority for the Regional Plan, which is an active joint humanitarian and development plan in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt to help countries To deal with the large influx of refugees due to the Syrian crisis.

He said: “Social tensions between refugees and host communities are a source of concern, particularly in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey where the size of refugees and their concentration in certain regions have a direct impact on the dynamics of social cohesion.

The report stated that Jordan currently hosts 1.3 million Syrians, of whom 674,228 are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, making it the second largest refugee-hosting country in the world in 2021.

He added that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on Jordan, with significant increases in unemployment, food insecurity, gender-based violence and declining access to education and health services.

He said, “The pandemic has reversed the progress made over previous years in terms of support for vulnerable communities, including refugees, as some indicators of vulnerability have declined for the first time since 2014. Moreover, challenges for social cohesion in Jordan are not limited to refugees, but also extend to The instability and fragility of the situation for the Jordanians themselves.

The report said: “The approach to social cohesion in Jordan is less organized than in other countries in the plan, and specific social cohesion initiatives in Jordan are linked to communication projects between communities (joint activities, cultural events, and community initiatives) and the establishment of community committees, in both Specific urban neighborhoods and rural communities.

Some of the pilot projects include dialogue sessions between Iraqi and host communities on the one hand and relevant local stakeholders, including the authorities, on the other, but access to and support appears to be limited.

The report emphasized that although these initiatives are “promising,” there does not appear to be a common and coordinated approach to social cohesion in Jordan, which would be able to bring the plan and government actors together to address social cohesion challenges. He suggested that this may be in part as a result of social cohesion remaining a sensitive topic in Jordan with official stakeholders often not receptive to such efforts.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees previously confirmed that 64% of refugees in Jordan buy their food needs through credit cards, compared to an average of 45% in 2018.

A UNHCR report showed a deterioration in the economic situation in Jordan during the past year, compared to 2018, as 36% of Syrian refugees complained of debts, compared to 11% in 2018.

The report showed that the average value of debts on a single Syrian refugee amounted to 343 dinars, while the average value of non-Syrian individuals amounted to 792 dinars.

And he indicated that the most vulnerable groups in terms of providing housing and shelter are more vulnerable to fragility and the inability to meet their needs of water, sanitation, health care and hygiene supplies, while 17% of individuals who face severe difficulties in meeting their basic needs also face severe fragility in health. .

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