Ireland supports UNICEF’s lifesaving work for children in Jordan

Stocks News :
Ireland has announced a new contribution of US$1.1 million to support UNICEF’s work saving the lives of vulnerable children in Jordan, including Syrian refugees.

The funding will support UNICEF’s health and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and education programmes for vulnerable children and women in Jordan.

“The generous support from Ireland will help ensure that our lifesaving work for the most vulnerable children in refugee camps and the host community can continue during the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent this from becoming a child rights crisis,” said Tanya Chapuisat, Representative, UNICEF Jordan.

Announcing the funding, Minister of State for the Diaspora and Development,Ciaran Cannon said:”COVID-19 is severely affecting children who were already very vulnerable and bringing many more below the poverty line. The impacts of the virus on children are being made worse by the closure of schools and disruption of family incomes. Ireland is proud to continue to partner with UNICEF in its valuable work in Jordan supporting these children and their caregivers.”

The contribution from Ireland will support the provision of clean water and safe sanitation in refugee camps, where water provision has increased to respond to increased hygiene needs to protect refugees from the coronavirus, as well as increase the climate-resilience of Jordan’s water scarce communities. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, UNICEF has distributed soap and increased hygiene awareness to over 120,000 refugees and other vulnerable populations.

The partnership is also helping to scale up UNICEF’s work with the Ministry of Education to increase the provision of accessible and quality education to children in Jordan, including the critical window for Early Childhood Development in pre-primary years and non-formal education for those who have dropped out of school because of conflict, protection risks and economic hardship.

Ireland is also supporting UNICEF’s lifesaving efforts with the Ministry of Health to deliver health and nutrition services to children and mothers in refugee camps and vulnerable communities, which has become even more critical since the emergence of COVID-19.

Ireland is long-standing partner of UNICEF in Jordan and has supported UNICEF’s work to strengthen national systems and provide lifesaving services for children since the beginning of the Syrian crisis.