The U.S. government has pledged a grant of $40 million for Estidama, a program co-launched by the government and the Social Security Corporation (SSC) in 2020 to sustain jobs and support payrolls in sectors hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The grant agreement was co-inked Thursday by SSC Director-General Hazim Rahahleh and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Sherry F. Carlin.
The U.S. official said that her country’s government is supporting the “Estidama” program to help companies keep their employees, adding that: “providing financial resources for families and businesses during the coronavirus pandemic is extremely important to Jordan’s current economic stability as well as to its future economic recovery. “
SSC Director Hazim Rahahleh said the corporation is proceeding with the development of the policies and programs necessary to deal with the repercussions of the pandemic, indicating that social security programs have reached more than 1.1 million people and more than 35,000 enterprises.
He indicated that the SSC’s procedures have been carefully designed and has been proactive in every stage of the pandemic, stressing that all of them fall within the responsibilities and role of the corporation.
Rahahleh thanked the U.S. government, represented by the USAID, for its support of the “Estidama” program, which, he said, is one of the most important programs launched to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic.
He also thanked the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation for its efforts in coordinating and supporting the partnership efforts between the SSC and the UASID, indicating that the corporation looks forward to continuing cooperation with the U.S. agency in areas of insurance and social protection.
Source: Jordan News Agency