Amman, Oct 2 (Petra) -- USAID is offering the World Food Programme (WFP) in Jordan a USD22 million in assistance for Jordan's response plan to the Syrian refugee crisis.

USAID said in a statement on Sunday that the new funding would enable the WFP to provide food vouchers and monthly cash assistance to some 465,000 refugees, preventing a gap in aid in the short term.

The new assistance package would raise the total contribution of USAID in 2022 to some $89 million, almost a third of the financial needs of the UN programme to provide food aid in Jordan in 2022, it explained.

It noted that the WFP, despite the new aid, still suffers from a deficit of $34.5 million, forcing it to reduce its cash transfers by a third, starting September, for 353,000 refugees living in urban areas and other host communities in Jordan.

According to the statement, the agency expressed its concern that the slashing of cash assistance would lead to more evictions of refugee families and forcing them back into refugee camps.

USAID Mission Director in Jordan Sherry Carlin said the world could address the global food security crisis through coordinated action and countries' commitment to collective action, humanitarian aid and investment in food systems.

The statement shows that since the outbreak of the war in Syria 11 years ago, hundreds of thousands have fled to Jordan in search of haven, while Jordan has been hosting more than 676,000 registered Syrian refugees, the third largest number of Syrian refugees in the world.

USAID enabled the WFP to provide food assistance to 465,000 Syrian and other vulnerable refugees in Jordan, according to the USAID statement.

The Russian-Ukrainian war led to significant increases in food prices worldwide, a burden on food security in Jordan.

More than 80 per cent of refugees in camps and 90 per cent of refugees in host communities have suffered in 2022 from either food insecurity or lack of food.

//Petra// AK

02/10/2022 20:38:47