With an influx of refugees from four regional wars in just 70 years and a lack of water and other resources, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and its people face many challenges.
Millions of refugees from different conflicts currently live in Jordan. The country has more than two million Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, and about 655,000 Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR. With your help, Anera provides necessary resources to Jordan refugees and supports projects for education and medicine and humanitarian relief.
How to Help Refugees in Jordan
Anera is working in Jordan to support Palestinian and Syrian refugees, beginning with our in-kind program that distributes vital medicines and other supplies, including antibiotics, medicine for chronic illnesses and wheelchairs. In addition to medical donations, Anera also provides kits for school and hygiene as well as relief supplies such as blankets.
We are also securing funding for early childhood development (ECD) and women’s economic empowerment programs. Anera’s ECD pilot project in Jordan will go hand-in-hand with women’s economic empowerment. Women who have opportunities to send their young children to school are better able to find jobs outside of the home.
When you donate to Anera, you will provide the resources Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Jordan need to thrive. Your support will help with our medical donation program that distributes vital medicines and other supplies, as well as school and hygiene kits, and relief supplies like blankets. Your contribution will also support women’s economic empowerment programs. Learn more about how we use donations by visiting our FAQ page.
What Happens When You Donate to Refugees in Jordan
You can help Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Jordan with your gift to Anera. We work directly with refugee communities in Jordan to make meaningful changes that bring a lasting impact. Your support will provide early childhood education and women’s economic empowerment opportunities. Women who can send their young children to school are better able to find jobs outside of the home.
Our staff comes from the areas we serve and work directly with their communities. We target the following service areas based on the most common refugee needs:
- Education: Your donation will fund school supplies and educational programs for refugee learners of all ages.
- Health: In addition to medical supplies and treatments, your gift will support initiatives that provide people with disabilities the resources they need for their well-being.
- Community: Jordan refugee communities will use your gift to boost job opportunities and strengthen the ties that connect people.
- Emergency: During a conflict or natural disaster, your donation will deliver urgently needed aid.
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JORDAN STORIES
Our Impact
Enhancing Access to Reading Glasses in Jordan
Anera Delivers Much-Needed Medicines to Jordan
Delivering Chronic Disease Medicines to the Most Vulnerable in Jordan
Anera's History in Jordan
From 2004 to 2011, Anera maintained an office in Jordan that managed several programs for families in disadvantaged communities and refugee camps. Our four local, full-time staff in Amman delivered after-school tutoring programs for refugees and Jordanian students. We also conducted public health outreach campaigns, screened and treated hearing and visual impairments, provided training workshops for women to start up income-generating projects, and delivered humanitarian supplies.
The Situation for Palestinian Refugees in Jordan
Palestinian refugees first arrived in Jordan during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, with a second wave coming in the wake of the 1967 War. Jordan also hosts nearly 10,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria who face numerous challenges regarding their refugee and legal status. Today, most Palestinian refugees have full citizenship in Jordan, but a large percentage live below the national poverty line and lack access to quality education and health care.
Life for Syrian Refugees in Jordan
Jordan hosts nearly 1.4 million refugees who fled from the war in Syria in 2011. Although Jordan has five refugee camps for Syrians, 83 percent of Syrian refugees live in poverty in Jordanian cities. Due to statelessness, psychological trauma, interrupted education and poverty, many of these refugees lack professional and educational opportunities. In 2018, UNICEF found that 85 percent of Syrian refugee children in Jordan lived below the poverty line. They also reported that 94 percent of these children under age five faced "multidimensional" poverty, where they did not have basic needs met, such as education or health.
Refugee Camps in Jordan
Jordan has 10 Palestinian refugee camps and five refugee camps for Syrians. As of February 2019, 412,054 refugees live in Palestinian refugee camps — 17.3 percent of the 2,242,579 total registered Palestinian refugees. The 10 UNRWA Palestinian camps are:
- Talbieh Camp
- Jabal el-Hussein Camp
- Marka Camp
- Jerash Camp
- Baqa'a Camp
- Zarqa Camp
- Amman New Camp
- Husn Camp
- Irbid Camp
- Souf Camp
Jerash Palestinian Refugee Camp
Jerash camp is located in a verdant area of northern Jordan. The residents there are 1967 refugees from Palestine and they have no rights (as opposed to those who came in 1948, who have full rights) – very much like Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. They are very limited in the professions they can practice. In other camps, there is a mix of 1948 and 1967 refugees. In Jerash, the 40,000 refugees are from 1967 so they do not have social security numbers. They cannot enroll in schools or qualify for health care. Anera is delivering medicines to the Medical Aid for Palestinians clinic, which is very active in the camp.
Za'atari Syrian Refugee Camp
Around 78,800 Syrian refugees live in the Za'atari camp near the Jordan and Syria border. From its establishment in 2012 to the present, it has transformed from a gathering of tents into a small city and the largest Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. The camp features a vibrant market that includes around 3,000 informal businesses. Anera is delivering to the camp a shipment of antibiotics as well as medicines that treat asthma and parasites.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Situation in Jordan
2 million
Palestinian refugees live in Jordan
A large percentage live below the national poverty line and lack access to quality education and health care.
1.4 million
refugees from Syria
live in urban poverty and lack access to jobs or educational opportunities.
13%
of Jordanian citizens
live below the national poverty line.
