Amman New Camp

Amman New camp, known locally as Wihdat, was one of four camps set up after 1948 to accommodate Palestine refugees who were displaced from Palestine by the 1948 War. The camp was established in 1955 on an area of 0.48 square kilometres, southeast of Amman.

The refugees were initially housed in 1,400 shelters constructed by UNRWA. In 1957, the Agency built 1,260 additional shelters. Over the years, residents added more rooms to improve their shelters and the camp has grown into an urban-like quarter surrounded by areas of high population density.

UNRWA installations in the camp provide services both for the refugees residing in the camp and for those living in its surroundings. In addition to Three elementary and Four preparatory schools and one health centre, the camp houses one community-based rehabilitation centre, one women’s programme centre, one environmental health office and one camp services office.

Amman New camp is very overcrowded. Kiosks and haphazard stalls add to the disorganization on crowded streets.

MAJOR CHALLENGES

ANC suffers from a number of pressing socio-economic challenges. For instance, unemployment is rampant throughout the camp, where approximately 24 per cent of females and 15 per cent of males were unemployed. ANC ranks second of the ten Palestine refugee camps in Jordan in terms of poverty levels, with 34 per cent of residents living below the national poverty line (816 JD per annum).

Another major socio-economic challenge concerns the residents' health. ANC has the highest rate of chronic health issues out of all camps in Jordan. Perhaps most troubling, more than half of it's residents do not have any form of health insurance.

Only 91 per cent of students in ANC are fully enrolled in primary school, the lowest rate of all ten camps in Jordan. In addition, a mere 12 per cent of males and 16 per cent of females in ANC completed post-secondary education. This, coupled with a significantly lower rate of academic attendance compared to other camps, represents a serious hurdle in advancing the camp's educational status.*

For more information about Amman New Camp (click here)
Updated in April 2023. 

*Tiltnes, A., and Zhang, H., 2013. Progress, challenges, diversity. Insights into the socioeconomic conditions of Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Fafo