AMMAN -- Syrians continued to flee to Jordan in record numbers on Tuesday as a minister warned that a funding crisis may force the government to cut healthcare services to the rapidly growing refugee community.
Some 2,000 Syrians crossed into Jordan early Tuesday, raising the total number of new arrivals over the past seven days to over 12,000, according to the Jordan Armed Forces.
Around 40 injured Syrians were among the influx.
Health Minister Mujalli Mhailan on Tuesday warned that the growing number of refugees is threatening to plunge the Kingdom into a healthcare "crisis", calling for JD250 million in emergency aid to continue providing medical services to the refugee community.
Speaking at a press conference, Mhailan highlighted the growing pressure the refugees are placing on the healthcare sector, noting that the ministry is devoting 25 per cent of its budget to extend basic public healthcare to Syrians within refugee camps and across the country, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Should the government fail to receive urgent financial assistance, the ministry may be forced to cut basic health services for Syrians, he warned.
The minister said 53 cases of tuberculosis have been registered among Syrian refugees, while seven were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Seven cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis (a type of skin infection) and nine cases of measles were detected among refugees, he added, according to Petra.
The cost of treating Syrians residing in various governorates in the Kingdom's public hospitals and health centres stood at JD65 million in 2012.
With the growing influx of refugees, this year's bill is expected to be more than three times higher.
A joint NGO/UN briefing estimates that as of April 3, 2013, some 402,000 refugees had entered the Kingdom, whereas the government says that an approximate 470,000 Syrians have entered the country since March 2011, a number that is rapidly rising. Officials believe that hosting this number of refugees is set to cost Jordan over $1 billion in 2013 alone.
Jordan currently hosts an estimated one-third of the total number of Syrian refugees in the region, totalling an approximate 6 per cent of the Kingdom's population.
According to the briefing, over 70 per cent of Syrian refugees are living within host communities in the Kingdom.
As of March 15, 2013, Jordan had received just over $132 million out of $495 million, which is 27 per cent, of the funding pledged by the Regional Response Plan, a UN initiative.
"The limited funding affects the ability of agencies to meet the growing needs of refugees, reduces the quality of the refugee response in Jordan, and ultimately increases the poverty, vulnerability and suffering of those who have fled their country in search of refuge and protection", the brief said.
Meanwhile, violence intensified across the border region late Monday and Tuesday, with Jordanian security officials and Syrian rebel sources reporting heavy clashes and gunfire in the border villages of Al Eyab, Dalaa and Sheikh Maskeen and the southern city of Daraa.
The sources also reported heavy gunfire in the Nasib area late Tuesday as regime and rebel forces continued their battle for control of the Nasib/Jaber border crossing.
© Jordan Times 2013
