Contribution to the UNHCR's activities in Jordan 2021



Contract partner: UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Country: Jordanien Funding amount: € 1.500.000,00 Project start: 01.01.2021 End: 31.12.2021

Short Description:

Overall goal


The Programme Goal is to provide cash assistance to vulnerable refugees in Jordan as part of the COVID-19 response.


While the proposed contribution from the ADA shall focus on cash, the UNHCR COVID-19 programme will also include, among others, livelihoods, health, child protection, gender-based violence and education and community engagement.


Expected results


Under its 2021 overall response plan, UNHCR aims to achieve the following key results:

- Advocating access to territory, the right to seek asylum, the principles of non-refoulement, family unity, and the provision of security and protection to people of concern, in accordance with international refugee protection principles;

- Advocating the inclusion of refugees into national social protection system so that they can access social security benefits including, but not limited to, healthcare through referrals and the unemployment fund for those working both in the formal and informal sectors;

- Providing multi-sectoral assistance to refugees in camps; coordinating multi-purpose cash assistance for the most vulnerable and supporting the graduation model that allows for the discontinuation of cash in conjunction with more livelihoods opportunities.


Target group / Beneficiaries


Austria's contribution of EUR 1,500,000 will allow UNHCR to target a total of roughly 707 households (2828 persons) over 12 months under the assumption that the average package amounts to EUR 164.


With the contribution from ADA, UNHCR shall support the COVID-19 response and deliver cash-assistance to vulnerable refugees in Jordan. The COVID-19 assistance provides a short-term emergency support helping refugees address sudden change in their livelihoods and work opportunities. Past experience shows that the assistance is used by beneficiaries to cover rent. As a result, cash assistance supported by ADA will reduce recourse to negative coping strategies,


UNHCR will implement the project through its partners in close coordination with the

Government of Jordan and other UN agencies.


Activities


Activities include:

- Delivery of emergency cash-assistance to address COVID-19 related needs of vulnerable refugees.


Context


As of 30 November 2020, there were 751,964 registered persons of concern in Jordan, of which 662,166 were Syrians. Overall, 83.1% refugees reside in urban areas while 16.9% live in two camps – 78,442 live in Zaatari and 42,012 live in Azraq. Over 80% of out-of-camp refugees are below the national poverty line. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic refugees’ capacities to make end meets have further deteriorated and even more challenges to access adequate shelter, food, healthcare and education.


UNHCR has been providing regular cash assistance on monthly basis to 30,000 Syrian refugees since 2015 with an average monthly cost of 4,500,000 USD. Due to budget constraints, UNHCR has not been able to provide assistance to all families in need, and those not be assisted have been placed on a waiting list. Families on the waiting list replace cash beneficiaries who leave the cash programme (e.g. ineligible following re-assessments, resettled families or spontaneous departures). A combination of factors, including reduction in resettlement departures, the closure of cash assistance INGO programs where beneficiaries were referred to UNHCR, and increased poverty caused by protracted displacement and most recently the COVID-19 crisis had resulted in a sharp increase in the number of families on the waiting list. As a result, the COVID-19 cash assistance to be supported by ADA will represent a critical lifeline to refugees in Jordan.

project number 2694-01/2021
source of funding AKF
sector Humanitäre Hilfe: Sofortmaßnahmen
tied 0
modality
marker Poverty: 1
  • Policy marker: are used to identify, assess and facilitate the monitoring of activities in support of policy objectives concerning gender equality, aid to environment, participatory development/good governance, trade development and reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health. Activities targeting the objectives of the Rio Conventions include the identification of biodiversity, climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, and desertification.
    • 1= policy is a significant objective of the activity
    • 2= policy is the principal objective of the activity
  • Donor/ source of funding: The ADA is not only implementing projects and programmes of the Austrian Development Cooperation , but also projects funded from other sources and donors such as
    • AKF - Foreign Disaster Fund of the Austrian federal government
    • BMLFUW - Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water
    • EU - Funds of the European Commission
    • Others - various other donors are listed in ADA’s annual business report.
  • Type of Aid – Aid modalities: classifies transfers from the donor to the first recipient of funds such as budget support, core contributions and pooled programmes and funds to CSOs and multilateral organisations, project-type interventions, experts and other technical assistance, scholarships and student costs in donor countries, debt relief, administrative costs and other in-donor expenditures.
  • Purpose/ sector code: classifies the specific area of the recipient’s economic or social structure, funded by a bilateral contribution.
  • Tied/Untied: Untied aid is defined as loans and grants whose proceeds are fully and freely available to finance procurement from all OECD countries and substantially all developing countries. Transactions are considered tied unless the donor has, at the time of the aid offer, clearly specified a range of countries eligible for procurement which meets the tests for “untied” aid.