The Zaatari refugee camp near the border city of Mafraq, Jordan, February 1, 2020 (Reuters)

Almost 200,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan are at risk of losing food support because of funding shortfalls.

Syria Direct, citing Jordan’s Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, reports that only 1.6% of $2.4 billion for the Jordan Response Plan was secured as of March 31.

In comparison, the JRP received more than $1.1 billion, 49% of necessary funding, in 2020. The Plan met 50% of its goal in 2019 and 64% in 2018.

There are more than 665,000 registered Syrian asylum-seekers and refugees in Jordan, out of a total of more than 5.6 million Syrian refugees amid the 122-month conflict.

The World Food Programme warned at the end of March that it is experiencing “severe funding shortfalls”, threatening aid to more than 500,000 Syrians each month. Funding was obtained through the end of May, but $64 million is still needed to meet immediate needs.

UNICEF, which provides water and sanitation services in camps, says it might have to cut back by June because of a $9.2 million gap.

The UN High Commission for Refugees is about 22% funded, “enough for now”, according to its Jordan spokesperson Lilly Carlisle.

In March, the international donors conference in Brussels drew pledges of $4.4 billion, a reduction of $1.1 billion from 2020.

See also UN Delivers $6.4 Billion of $10 Billion Goal for Syria’s Displaced and Refugees