Steering committee to update anti-poverty, social protection strategy

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury on Monday chaired the steering committee’s first preparatory meeting to update the Strategy for Combating Poverty and Enhancing Social Protection, according to a statement from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation 

Fakhoury said that the Cabinet has directed his ministry and the Ministry of Social Development to update the national strategy to combat poverty and enhance social protection, adding that they highlighted the need to introduce the concept of social protection as a basic pillar to increase the national capacity to fight poverty and raise the living standards of Jordanian citizens, the statement said.

Fakhoury said that Jordan’s economic, social, demographic and political developments should be considered by the committee in their update of the “National Strategy for Combating Poverty” for the years 2013-2020. 

The “Jordan Document 2025”, the 2015 population and housing census, as well as the Syrian refugee population’s impact on poverty and social protection system, should all be evaluated in the committee’s detailed analysis. 

The strategy is expected to be finalised by the end of this year 2017, according to Fakhoury. 

Previous revisions of the strategy showed the importance of updating the policies’ documents, in order to be in line with the Jordan Vision 2025, as well as the importance of preparing new policy documents on the impacts of the Syrian refugees on poverty, social protection and demographic change. 

For his part, the Minister of Social Development Wajih Azayzeh stressed the importance for the strategy to be linked to an executive plan of action, noting the need to involve all related parties in the preparation of the strategy, especially the private sector and civil society institutions. 

He also noted the importance of a monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the strategy’s achievements, according to the statement.

The steering committee comprises members of various ministries, officials of the National Aid Fund, the Social Security Corporation, the General Statistics Department, the Zakat Fund, the Investment Authority, the Higher Council for Housing, the National Commission for Women Affairs and three representatives of civil society organisations.