UN Cuts Monthly Aid for Syrian Refugees in Jordan Due to Funding Crisis

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) announced on Tuesday that it would reduce monthly cash aid to 120,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan’s Zaatari and Azraq camps, citing an “unprecedented funding crisis.” The allowance will drop from $32 to $21 starting in August, straining the resources of host country Jordan, which is home to 1.3 million Syrian refugees.

This announcement follows the agency’s decision to discontinue aid to 50,000 refugees in Jordan, due to a combination of donor fatigue, the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, and the war between Ukraine and Russia. The initial program supported 465,000 refugees.

“Providing dignified lives to refugees is a global responsibility,” said Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. The WFP’s representative for Jordan, Alberto Correia Mendes, warned of an impending humanitarian crisis as the agency still faces a $41 million funding shortfall.

Syria’s civil war, now in its 13th year, has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of its prewar population of 23 million.