Jordan and the world celebrate today (Friday) the International Day of Human Solidarity, which falls on 20 December each year, and which was approved and established by the UN General Assembly in 2003.
The celebration of this International Day aims to emphasize the global unity within the framework of diversity between races and regions. In addition, it aims at reminding governments of the need to respect international agreements, raise awareness on the importance of human solidarity, and spread awareness about strengthening solidarity among all sides to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. As well as eliminating social challenges, cultivating social values to ensure the rights of individuals in society and protecting them from social scourge that are spreading due to harmful behaviors, both at the individual or social level, beside encouraging the implementation of new initiatives to eradicate poverty.
In a press release on the occasion, the Higher Population Council emphasized the importance of adopting an integrated approach based on gaining support, raising awareness among members of society and encouraging humanitarian initiatives, as Jordan suffers from a major challenge that is poverty, One of its reasons is the imbalance between the available financial and economic resources and the increment in population due to the influx of refugees as a result of forced migrations.
HPC believes in the necessity of taking the issue into consideration with policy makers and all national and international bodies, societies, private sector and syndicates, especially in regards of taking the necessary policies and initiatives to work on strengthening the bonds of cooperation and hard work in this field.
HPC also pointed out that Jordan aspires to ensure that all citizens enjoy a decent life and social environment, by adopting advanced methods of social protection that contribute to addressing challenges and risks related to poverty. HPC also noted that Jordan has succeeded in implementing social protection programs based on equity and justice that ensure the optimal and most effective use considering the available resources, applied at a high level of transparency, and believe in citizens' rights.
HPC added that Jordan has also implemented a series of social programs that aim to increase job opportunities, reduce unemployment, fight against poverty, and provide cash and in-kind assistance to poor and vulnerable Jordanian and refugees groups in society. According to the results of the Household Expenditures and Income Survey (2017-2018) issued by Department of Statistics, the poverty rate among Jordanian individuals reached 15.7%, which indicates that 1.069 million Jordanians are within the poverty range.
