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EUROPEAN UNION

Working together for the children and youth in Jordan

Yasmeen, 7, and Aisha, 7 (in dark blue), in their local EU-funded Makani centre. While Yasmeen speaks Arabic, Aisha only speaks Turkmen. Despite the language barrier, Yasmeen was drawn to Aisha’s smile and the girls became best friends.

In response to the Syrian crisis and to the marginalized groups in Jordan, The EU has been helping UNICEF to reach vulnerable Syrian and host community children in Jordan through the Education and Makani (“My Space”) Programmes.

With their support, vulnerable children and young people in Jordan (including those affected by the Syria crisis and other marginalized groups) are increasingly included in learning and skills building opportunities, and have improved capacity to transition to productive adulthood and positively engage in community life. Boys and girls have improved inclusion, safety, learning and well-being, through quality education in Syrian refugee camps. The capacities of vulnerable children and young people are improved in the areas of learning, transferable skills, and social and emotional wellbeing in the long term.

Vulnerable children in Jordan, including Syrian refugees and marginalized groups such as the Dom Community face significant barriers to completing early childhood, basic and secondary education, and learning to their full potential. While the majority of children in Jordan complete primary school (Grades 1-6), 19.7 per cent of Syrian children drop out of school during primary, and 43.2 per cent during lower secondary (Grades 7-10). Nationally, fewer boys than girls complete basic and secondary education, though Syrian girls have the lowest secondary completion rates. Before COVID-19, 52 per cent of children in Jordan at late primary age were not proficient in reading.

UNICEF’s Action with EU support will focus on improving boys’ and girls’ inclusion, safety, learning and well-being through quality education. The Action will focus on ensuring that vulnerable children and young people in schools and non-formal education (NFE) centres in refugee camps as well as those participating in the Makani community centres, increasingly utilise inclusive, integrated, gender responsive and enhanced social protection services and socioeconomic opportunities to fulfil their potential.

UNICEF/Herwig/2019 Thanks to the support from the EU, UNICEF is prioritizing reaching children from the Dom community through its integrated Makani services – providing critical learning support, child protection, youth and life skills and a safe space to have fun and play.

Since 2020, the European Union has also helped to fund a joint ILO and UNICEF initiative, which aims to help young Syrians and vulnerable Jordanians with job opportunities and to strengthen a more inclusive national social protection system.

UNICEF Jordan is incredibly grateful for the continued support of the European Union.