Housing Upgrading Activity: Jordan Case Study

As of February 2017, 79% of 656,170 Syrian refugees registered under UNHCR in Jordan live outside the camps in urban and pre-urban areas, with 26.9 % or 176,419 living in Amman governorate. The Greater Amman Municipality 2015 Census shows 31,236 Syrians living in Bader district, in south of Amman. French Red Cross, in partnership with Jordanian Red Crescent, set to upgrade housing for nearly 300 most vulnerable Jordanian and Syrian families living in Bader district. This activity was part of the multisectorial urban development project “Improvement of living conditions of refugees and host communities in Bader district”, whose main objectives were to increase social cohesion and decrease tension between the Syrian refugees and Jordanian host community.

Due to owner expression of disapproval already during the early assessment phase, some households were excluded from the beneficiary list for shelter upgrading activity. As those were among the most vulnerable families, it was decided to support them through the distribution of winter kits, focusing on heating (stoves and fuel vouchers) and insulation (mats, tarpaulin, silicone sealant, etc.). The final target was thus modified to the following:

• Upgrading of 225 houses (average budget of approx. 800 JOD per house).
• Distribution of 60 winter insulation kits (value of approx. 150 JOD per kit).

The distribution of winter insulation kits took place in January 2015 and implementation of upgrading of 225 houses took place from April to December 2016. Out of the 225 upgraded houses, 176 were Syrians (all renters) and 49 Jordanian (36 owners and 13 renters).