(MENAFN- Jordan Times) Plans are in the works to upgrade Jordan's first Syrian refugee camp in order to improve what officials are describing as "undesirable" living conditions.
According to Ayman Mifleh, secretary general of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation, the UN and the government this week will introduce trailers to the Zaatari Refugee Camp near Mafraq, 80 kilometres north of Amman, in order to provide residents with better shelter from the daytime heat and cold nighttime temperatures than the tents they live in now.
During an official visit to the camp by the ambassadors of several Arab and Muslim countries on Wednesday, along with Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Planning Minister Jaafar Hassan, Mifleh said officials were aiming to add between six and eight trailers to the camp per day until all 3,000 tents have been replaced by the more permanent structures, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Syrian refugees are currently housed in plastic triage tents, which residents say fail to keep out near constant gusts of sand during the day or cold winds at night.
International agencies and government officials have identified upgrading the Zaatari camp, which has received over 3,000 Syrians since its opening last week, as a priority.
Wednesday's tour marked the latest in a series of official visits by diplomats and foreign dignitaries to the camp - part of a bid by international agencies and the government to highlight the need for greater resources to improve services for Syrian refugees.
UN officials say efforts to improve camp conditions are being hampered by an ongoing funding gap, with the UN Refugee Agency reporting that it has received 36 per cent of a $190 million aid appeal launched earlier this year to support services for host countries.
Local officials acknowledge that the country's ability to upgrade camp tents into trailers hinges on the financial commitments of the international community.
In the face of a refugee influx that has reached as many as 2,000 persons per day, Amman lifted long-held reservations over opening a refugee camp last month, giving the UN the green light to establish as many as 22 camps in the northern region.
The camps are meant to ease the strain the growing refugee community is placing on Jordan's already stressed resources, with the presence of thousands of Syrians triggering a housing shortage, rising prices and a costly spike in water demand.
Despite the added burden, Amman has vowed to continue an open-border policy that has led to the entry of over 150,000 Syrians since the onset of the crisis in March 2011.
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