Cash assistance programme in Jordan covers 69% of the poor, Minister says

Amman: Minister of Social Development Wafa Bani Mustafa Monday said the World Bank considers the cash assistance programme in Jordan to be the "largest" compared to the population in the MENA region as the programme doubled coverage of the poor to reach 62 per cent. Bani Mustafa presented Jordan's efforts in social protection at the "International Forum on Social Gains and Achievements" in Algeria. She stated that the government has drafted strategies and tools related to the paths of economic, administrative and political modernisation, the most prominent of which is the national strategy for social protection, adding that the number of beneficiary families of the National Aid Fund (NAF) jumped from 125,000 in 2019 to 220,000 in 2023. She noted that the Ministry launched a program to provide services for senior citizens through nine centres across the Kingdom, providing non-residential care in homes whose services benefit 400 senior citizens and providing protection for women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence. On the Palestinian humanitarian crisis, she said, "Jordan was and still is a supporter of the Palestinian cause, as it is the first issue present in the conscience of every Jordanian, through the efforts of His Majesty and his regional and international tours to realise a ceasefire, prevent forced displacement and deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza." Source: Jordan News Agency