The UN refugees agency warned that its aid programs for Iraqis are in jeopardy because of price hike in Jordan, whose food price has doubled or more after canceling fuel subsidies in February, local Jordan Times said Monday.
"We are being doubly hit because not only is there an increase in the cost of providing food and basic necessities to a particular family but also more families are approaching us for help as a result of the rising cost of living," said Imran Riza, chief representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Amman.
"The urgency is real" though there has yet been any cancellation of programs, added Riza.
This remarks echoed another UNHCR official Antonio Guterres' warning on a Friday donor meeting in Geneva, where he said the humanitarian crisis "may grow even larger" and the agency may not be able to help hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees.
Another 127 million U.S. dollars is needed to sustain the UN programs until the end of the year, according to UNHCR officials.
The escalation of violence in Iraq since the 2003 U.S. invasion raised the number of Iraqis fleeing to Jordan to over 750,000, among whom over 54,000 have registered with the refugee agency, UN estimated.
Source: Xinhua
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