ReliefWeb

In Numbers

655,895 Registered refugees from Syria in Jordan (UNHCR)

531,946 Syrian refugees assisted with e-card and paper vouchers in January*

15,290 households assisted at the berm since November 2016

5,825 Vulnerable Jordanians and Syrian refugees assisted through food assistance-for-assets and food assistance-fortraining activities

*Assisted Syrians in host communities, camps and transit centres.

Highlights

• During January, WFP concluded the first cycle of life-saving assistance at the north-eastern border (berm). As of 31 January, 15,290 households received food and non-food items representing 100 percent of the estimated stranded population.

• WFP teamed up with Chef Manal Al-Alem for the “Healthy Not Hungry” dinner held at the Landmark Hotel in Amman, Jordan. The dinner featured locally grown ingredients, with the goal to show the benefits of local, diverse ingredients.

Situation Update

• Approximately 79 percent of registered Syrian refugees live in host communities, whereas 21 percent live in two camps (Azraq and Za’atri) and King Abdullah Park transit centre. In host communities, a limited number of refugees have work permits and thus most are largely dependent on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs.

• Currently, more than 60,000 Syrians are stranded at the northeastern border, also known as the berm, and live in dire conditions. On 22 November, WFP, UN agencies, and international and national NGOs resumed the distribution of food and non-food assistance to the affected population. This was the first time WFP was able to reach people stranded at the berm since August 2016.

WFP Response

• The Regional PRRO 200987 will focus on sustainable solutions through human capital and self-reliance support to refugees and host communities in Jordan, while providing life-saving food assistance when needed. The PRRO will respond to the needs of refugees and host communities through various programmes.

• WFP will continue its General Food Assistance (GFA) via e-voucher to 500,000 Syrian refugees vulnerable to food insecurity in camps and communities. Assistance for new arrivals through temporary paper vouchers (New Arrival Voucher & General Voucher Distribution) will also continue, until people are enrolled into WFP’s regular e-voucher programme. In-kind GFA will be used at the Jordanian-Syrian border (berm), as in this context, it is the most effective modality of assistance.

• WFP will expand its home-grown school meals model, the Healthy Kitchen project, in poverty pockets across the Kingdom. The Healthy Kitchen model will also be implemented inside refugee camps. The plan is to replace WFP’s current school meals programme – distribution of date bars – with healthy meals from the Healthy Kitchen initiative. The initiative provides Jordanian and Syrian women with income generating activities to prepare fresh healthy meals for school children attending public schools in camps and outside the camps.

• WFP will continue to enhance the self-reliance of Jordanians vulnerable to food insecurity and Syrians, while reducing dependency on humanitarian assistance. Therefore, WFP will increase the implementation of livelihood activities under the PRRO.