12,000 refugee families in Jordan did not receive monthly benefits in July: report

In Jordan, 12,000 refugee families did not receive monthly benefits in July, according to reports.

The families – who are eligible for the benefits – did not receive them due to limited funding and have been put on a waiting list, Jordanian state media outlet Al Mamlaka TV reported the UN's refugee agency UNHCR as saying.

Jordan hosts over 750,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered UNHCR – from Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and other countries – including 660,000 from Syria.

This makes Jordan one of the countries with the highest refugee population per capita, and places “enormous pressure” on the kingdom “and its host communities”, the UNHCR say.

The United Nations’ commission provides monthly cash assistance to the most needy families in the kingdom, depending on the funding available, UNHCR spokesperson in Meshal El-Fayez told Al Mamlaka TV.

They provide the benefits to refugees of varying nationalities and decide how much is allocated to each by taking numerous factors into account, including the number of family members and disabilities present.

“There is no specific monetary value set for everyone, the value of the monthly cash assistance varies from one family to another based on the number of family members and their nationality,” El-Fayez said.

Earlier this year Jordan encouraged the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to their home country, despite human rights groups insisting that Syria remains one of the most dangerous places on earth.

Syrian refugees left Syria to flee the Assad regime's fierce attacks on opposition towns and cities and many of those who left to Jordan, have suffered from discrimination.

About half of Syria’s population has been displaced due to Syria’s decade-long civil war. As many as 6.8 million Syrians live as refugees outside the country and the rest are internally displaced.