Rights group: World Bank, Jordan use flawed formula for aid to kingdom, excluding some poor people

By LAURIE KELLMAN
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — A leading rights group says the World Bank and Jordan are using a “flawed” algorithm to calculate aid for the kingdom, excludes some people who are impoverished, hungry or otherwise struggling. The report by Human Rights Watch released Tuesday says the automated program profiles and ranks the income and socioeconomic status of Jordanian families to determine who should receive support. It says “poverty targeting” leaves out some needy people — such as the owners of  modest businesses — who “don’t fit an algorithm’s rigid model of what poverty should look like.” The report says the World Bank and Jordan are revising the formula for release in July.