Jordan Times
November 1, 2001
Social development minister, USAID officials discuss poverty alleviation plans
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN — The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a main player in the country's poverty alleviation schemes, on Tuesday reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to assist the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) in its national agenda.During her meeting with USAID mission director, Toni Christiansen-Wagner, Minister of Social Development Tamam Ghul outlined the government's plans to address the country's chronic poverty problem, including proposed approaches to target impoverished groups.
Wagner, was also accompanied by the director of USAID's projects management office Roy Grohs, USAID regional adviser Khaled Nayef and poverty-reduction specialist Carmen Nazario.
Ghul later told The Jordan Times that the country's vision for poverty reduction aims at providing unemployed citizens with the required vocational and rehabilitative training to secure a reasonable standard of living.
The minister reiterated her concerns regarding the welfare of the unemployed who choose to stay at home rather than take up what they consider “menial jobs” such as carpentry, plumbing or tile fitting.
“In the long-run, the strategy we are looking to implement should take into account those who are unable to work or support themselves. We want to help people become productive citizens,” said Ghul, adding that special attention will be focused on those persons who cannot earn a living.
The most recent official assessment of poverty in Jordan was in 1992, according to which 21 per cent of Jordanian households lived in poverty. The assessment revealed a quadrupling of families living in severe poverty from 1.56 per cent to 6.6 per cent of households.