Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides is on an official mission to Jordan to visit EU aid projects supporting refugees and meet with government officials and humanitarian partners on the ground.

Today the Commissioner visited the Azraq Refugee Camp, where the EU is funding a camp hospital providing primary health care, reproductive health, mental health, psychosocial support, and protection services. He also visited schools which benefit from and EU funded Education in Emergencies project targeting children with disabilities.

Commissioner Christos Stylianides said: “The EU remains committed to supporting Jordan which hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees. We are funding education in emergencies projects so that no child is left behind. This is my personal commitment. Syrian refugees should have the same quality of education as any other child.  I am grateful to Jordan and its people for their generosity in welcoming Syrian refugees. During my visit I will also meet with the authorities to strengthen our cooperation on civil protection response.”

The Commissioner also visited Jordan's National Center for Security and Crisis Management to discuss civil protection with the national authorities, in particular ways to improve regional emergency preparedness and response mechanisms. The recent floods in Jordan and the region have shown that prevention and preparedness are crucial to prevent natural disasters.

During his visit, the Commissioner is due to hold several meetings with the national authorities, such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi and Expatriates and the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Mary Kawar.

EU humanitarian assistance in Jordan

In Jordan, the EU has provided more than €344 million in humanitarian assistance for refugees since 2012, for services such as health, food and basic needs assistance, winterisation support, shelter, water and sanitation, psychosocial support and protection programmes.

In 2018 alone, EU humanitarian aid to Jordan totaled €36 million. The aid has benefitted refugees living in the Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps, as well as Syrians in urban settings and at the Berm. The provision of basic services in villages and towns across the country also includes vulnerable Jordanian families.

Specific programmes support women and children. To address education needs, the EU has initiated a programme that will ensure hundreds of Syrian children complete primary and secondary education in Jordanian schools.

Background

The European Union and its Member States are the leading donor in the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis, having collectively mobilised some €11 billion since the beginning of the crisis in March 2011. The EU institutions have mobilised over €2.2 billion in humanitarian, economic, development and stabilisation assistance for the Syria crisis in Jordan.

Eight years into the conflict in Syria, Jordan remains one of the countries most affected by the displacement, hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, with the second highest share of refugees compared to its population in the world, 89 refugees per 1,000 inhabitants or equivalent to around 9% of its population. The vast majority, some 83%, live in cities and towns, while the remainder reside mainly in two refugee camps – Azraq and Zataari. Zaatari is the world's second largest camp with close to 80 000 residents.

In addition to Syrian refugees, Jordan is hosting some 67, 000 registered Iraqis, 11,500 people from Yemen, 4,200 from Sudan and 820 from Somalia. Furthermore, Jordan hosts the largest number of Palestinian refugees in the region.