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Syrian refugees in Jordan need about $3 billion in aid

February 9, 2014 at 4:12 pm

The Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Ibrahim Saif, said on Wednesday that his country needs about $3 billion to cover the costs of hosting Syrian refugees this year.


Representing his country, Saif attended the Second International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, which was inaugurated in Kuwait on Wednesday. During the conference, the UN said that it is currently in need of $10 billion to help 2.8 million Syrian refugees.

The UN predicts that by the end of 2014 there will be more than nine million internally displaced Syrian refugees and more than four million refugees who have fled to the neighbouring countries.

Saif reiterated that the costs of education and health services for the Syrian refugees in his country are increasing.

On the margins of the conference, a UN official observed that Jordan only receives $1.2 billion though the UN, thus bears a heavy burden by fulfilling the needs of the refugees on its soil.

Speaking to the Jordanian newspaper Al-Ghad, the official said: “Jordan is one among a number of countries which will receive the donations to be offered by the donors.”

The UN estimates that the costs of hosting more than half a million Syrian refugees in Jordan in 2013 and 2014 combined will be around $5.3 billion, with this year costing about $777 million more than last year.

During his speech at the conference, Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah announced that his country is making a $500 million donation. Al-Sobah called for UN Security Council members to put aside their differences and concentrate on finding a solution to the “disaster” in Syria.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have each pledged $60 million for the Syrian refugees. The US Secretary of State John Kerry also announced a $380 million donation.

The UK announced $164 million, Luxemburg $6.8 million, Sweden $35 million and Iran $13 million.

Kerry said that the refugee crisis has placed a heavy burden on Jordan and is reinforcing the state of instability in the whole region.

Source: Al Ghad