Canada and UN praise Jordan vaccination of refugees against Covid-19

Raia Alkabasi, an Iraqi refugee living in the northern city of Irbid became the first to receive a vaccine on Thursday

Jordanian King Abdullah II's uncle, Prince Hassan bin Talal, receives a Covid-19 vaccination at a clinic in Amman. Jordan launched a Covid-19 vaccination campaign on January 13, beginning with jabs for healthcare workers, people with chronic illnesses and those over the age of 60. Jordanian Royal Palace / AFPShow less

Canada and the UN have both praised Jordan for this week rolling out Covid-19 vaccines to refugees as well as its own nationals concurrently.

Jordan began its first public inoculations on Wednesday with hospitals in the northern provinces of Irbid and Mafraq giving out the first doses.

The government has begun vaccinating the most vulnerable and the elderly, with people registering through an online portal and being given an appointment by text message. Around 200,000 have registered for vaccination in the first wave.

Raia Alkabasi, an Iraqi living in the northern city of Irbid, became the first refugeeto receive a vaccine on Thursday.

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“Once again, Jordan has shown exemplary leadership and solidarity in hosting refugees. The country has included refugees in every aspect of the public health response to the pandemic, including the national vaccination campaign, proving how it should be done if we are to keep everyone safe,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

He tweeted on Saturday to again praise the “generous leadership” of Jordan for vaccinating the displaced alongside its own nationals.

“Of 90 countries currently developing Covid-19 vaccination campaigns, 51 have decided to include refugees,” he said. “Jordan, host to a large refugee population, has been one of the first to do this – once more showing generous leadership. Inclusion of all is key to beating the pandemic,” Mr Grandi said.

“The vast majority of the world’s refugees are hosted in low- and middle-income countries. The international community must do more to support host governments with access to the vaccines. Global and equitable access is what will ultimately protect lives and stem the pandemic,” he said.

Since the first case of Covid-19 was detected in Jordan’s refugee population last September, 1,928 refugees living in refugee camps have tested positive for the virus, the UNHCR said.

In Jordan, like elsewhere, the true number of cases is thought to be significantly higher than the reported cases due to testing constraints. Jordan has registered 313,000 cases of Covid-19 and 4,121 deaths.

Canada's international development minister joined Mr Grandi’s praise.

Karina Gould told The Canadian Press news agency that the first refugee receiving a vaccination in Jordan was an important milestone in ending the global pandemic.

“It brings an early glimmer of hope to the most vulnerable people right across the globe as we fight this terrible pandemic,” she said.

Canada has provided millions in aid to assist Jordan hosting refugees and displaced peoples from conflicts in neighbouring Iraq and Syria.

About 10 per cent of Jordan's population are refugees, including 661,997 Syrians registered with UNHCR, more than 65,000 Iraqis, 15,000 Yemenis, 6,000 Sudanese and 2,500 from 52 other countries.