International municipal assistance to improve living conditions in refugee settlements
VNG International (PLATFORMA’s member) and the city of Amsterdam are jointly implementing a technical assistance programme called LOGOReP (Local Government Resilience Programme). Its overall objective is to strengthen resilience at local government level and improve living conditions of the Jordanian population and Syrian refugees in host communities and refugee settlements in northern Jordan (Al Mafraq governorate).
LOGOReP’s purpose is to maintain service delivery levels at local government level and enable longer-term planning for spatial and economic development, in the context of increased urbanization and pressure on resources.
The programme follows a previous project in Jordan, “International Municipal Assistance to Al Za’atari Refugee Camp and Local Governments in Al Mafraq Governorate”, which aimed to contribute to the improvement of living conditions for the inhabitants of Al Za’atari camp and the Mafraq region through improved planning and operational capacity.
This was mainly achieved by helping Jordan’s institutions to provide a favourable local governance context to refugees and host communities on the one hand and through putting international municipal expertise at the service of UNHCR and national and local Jordanian authorities to address the challenges of service delivery to refugees in Al Za’atari camp and host communities in the Al Mafraq region on the other.
The project provided assistance in areas such as spatial planning, municipal service delivery, local economic development and governance. It enjoyed considerable buy-in from Jordanian authorities and UNHCR, allowing a regional programme to be launched as its follow-up in Lebanon and Jordan as per 1 September 2015.
Click here for the video which highlights spatial planning, a key part of VNGi work in refugee camp Al Za’atari. (This video was presented at the World Humanitarian Summit.)
Click here for more information about the regional programme in Lebanon.
LOGOReP’s Jordan country programme is implemented by VNG International(lead partner) in cooperation with the Municipality of Amsterdam, CILG-VNGi (Centre for Innovative Local Governance) and the Hague Academy for Local Governance (THA). LOGOReP has an office in Amman.
