Amman — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jordan has warned that international funding shortfalls are beginning to affect the way health services are delivered to refugees in the Zaatari and Azraq camps.
According to UNHCR, funding shortages are forcing the agency and its partners to reprioritize health services in the two camps and focus on the most urgent needs, in an effort to ensure the continued provision of essential healthcare.
While essential health services in the camps have not been fully suspended, UNHCR warned that continued funding shortages could undermine its ability, and that of its partners, to maintain current service levels, particularly primary healthcare, services for people with chronic diseases, and specialized medical referrals.
UNHCR spokesperson Yousef Taha told Al-Ghad that the refugee response sector in Jordan is facing growing pressure due to a severe funding shortage, with its impact beginning to emerge in the mechanisms used to provide health services to refugees, particularly in the Zaatari and Azraq camps.
Taha said that although no comprehensive suspension of essential health services has been recorded in the camps so far, the funding shortage has prompted measures to reprioritize services and focus on life-saving and most urgent care, with the aim of maintaining healthcare delivery amid limited available resources.
He warned that a prolonged funding crisis could weaken UNHCR’s and its humanitarian partners’ ability to maintain current health service levels, including primary healthcare, services for patients with chronic diseases, and specialized medical referrals.
Taha noted that the room for further reprioritization has become extremely limited, leaving little scope for additional adjustments. This means that any further funding cuts could directly affect the health services provided to refugees.
He said UNHCR continues to coordinate with the Jordanian government, partners and donors to mobilize financial resources, prevent negative consequences for refugees and host communities, and ensure that the most vulnerable groups continue to have access to essential services.
UNHCR’s latest operational report, covering July through September 2026, revealed that a severe shortage of funding for the health sector had prompted the agency and its partners to modify health service delivery mechanisms in the Zaatari and Azraq camps, prioritizing essential healthcare needs.
According to the report, current efforts are focused on addressing existing gaps in healthcare provision, mobilizing additional donor funding, and continuing fundraising and donor outreach efforts to ensure the continuity of essential health services in the two camps.
In this regard, UNHCR said it is strengthening coordination with the Ministry of Health and relevant partners to explore ways of supporting health services for refugees through existing national funding mechanisms, including the Jordanian Health Fund for Refugees, in an effort to identify funding sources that could help sustain these services.
Outside the camps, UNHCR data showed that around 900 refugees received life-saving medical treatment at public healthcare facilities linked to its programs between July and September.
These developments come amid continuing funding challenges facing refugee response programs in Jordan. The report showed that by the end of September, UNHCR had received only 29% of the total funding required for the current year.
According to the report, UNHCR needs $280 million to fund its programs in Jordan this year. However, available funding has covered only 29% of its total requirements, leaving the agency in need of an additional $200 million to ensure continued support for refugees.
The funding gap comes as 353,000 refugees remained registered with UNHCR in Jordan at the end of September. Children accounted for 52% of them, while 79% lived in host communities and 21% resided in camps. The figures underscore the continued need for essential services and humanitarian assistance despite the ongoing return of Syrian refugees to their country.
Refugees’ needs extend beyond healthcare. UNHCR continues to provide cash assistance to help meet basic needs, with around 13,000 refugee families living in host communities benefiting from such assistance during the three months covered by the report, while 320 families received emergency cash assistance.
These figures highlight the challenges facing the sustainability of humanitarian programs in Jordan, amid continued demand for healthcare and essential assistance and limited available funding. This is placing increasing pressure on UNHCR and its partners to maintain the level of services provided to refugees.
Meanwhile, the voluntary return of Syrian refugees from Jordan to Syria continues. The report said 230,500 Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR had returned to Syria between December 8, 2024, and the end of September.
Some 29,000 refugees returned during the third quarter of this year, compared with 56,000 during the same period last year, a 48% decline, despite the summer months recording the highest levels of return this year.
According to the report, 8,500 refugees returned in July, rising to 10,700 in August before falling to 9,500 in September. UNHCR attributed the seasonal increase in returns to the end of the school year and improved weather conditions, which facilitated travel and preparations for return.
Despite the continued return movement, the presence of hundreds of thousands of refugees in Jordan means that funding remains necessary for essential services and humanitarian assistance, particularly healthcare, which is facing increasing pressure due to financial constraints.
With limited options available for further reprioritizing health services, securing funding remains one of the main challenges facing UNHCR and its partners, particularly amid warnings that any additional cuts could directly affect the services provided to refugees in the coming period.
Source: Al-Ghad
