UNHCR, UNICEF cash assistance helps reduce Syrian refugees’ vulnerability — report

AMMAN — UNHCR and UNICEF on Wednesday launched the joint research study “A Promise of Tomorrow: The Effects of UNHCR and UNICEF Cash Assistance on Syrian Refugees in Jordan”, conducted by the Overseas Development Institute, a leading independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues, a UNICEF statement said.  

UNHCR currently provides multi-purpose cash assistance on a monthly basis for 30,000 Syrian refugee families in host communities while UNICEF provides an unconditional Child Cash Grant to 55,000 children from 15,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugee families. 

“Cash assistance is one of UNHCR and UNICEF’s most important social protection tools in humanitarian response in Jordan,” UNHCR Representative Stefano Severe, was quoted in the statement as saying. “The cash allows refugees to pay for rent and utilities, access education and helps them repay debts that were incurred to pay for urgent needs. It is effective and flexible, giving refugees the ability to appropriately manage their families’ needs, and helping them avoid coping behaviours that put them, their families and children at risk.”

The report showed that Syrian refugee families and their children remain highly vulnerable and that UNHCR and UNICEF cash assistance is broadly contributing in improving their lives. 

The majority of refugees are living below the Jordanian poverty line, with costs rising over time, and household expenditures exceeding income. The study highlighted that cash assistance is improving access to housing, helping families avoid harmful coping mechanisms, supporting greater spending on children’s schooling and improved academic performance, improving spending on child health and is helping to improve intra-household relationships due to reduced stress, the statement said.

“This programme will strengthen the social protection system in the country with the ambitious goal of reaching all of the most vulnerable girls and boys in Jordan, enabling them to enroll and regularly attend school,” said UNICEF Representative Robert Jenkins in the statement. 

He added that in the long run, UNICEF and UNHCR cash assistance approach will provide an opportunity to document best practices from the use of technology for payment process.

The research provided an understanding of the long-term impact of cash-based interventions on individuals, families, children and the host community in the humanitarian context. 

However, the report outlined the continued vulnerabilities faced by Syrian refugee families and their children, and the protracted nature of their exile means that continued support is more vital than ever, the statement concluded.