Compared to couples with children, households consisting of unaccompanied children and siblings are especially likely to be poor, even more so if they have female principal applicants. Principal applicant girls are clearly very vulnerable compared to both couples who are married with children and with principal applicant boys. Couples without children are less likely to be poor than couples with children if the principal applicant is a man, but this is not true for couples without children where the principal applicant is female.

<mark>We compare the impact of having assistance in two stages, first looking at the impact of WFP assistance alone (JD 24 per person, per month) and then the impact of WFP assistance combined with assistance from UNHCR, which varies according to household size. Looking first at the characteristics that reduce poverty risk, we see that education continues to reduce poverty risk and the effect of having some education over and above primary has a stronger impact after assistance is received than before, for both male and female principal applicant households. Having 12 years or more education continues to reduce the risk of poverty more for male principal applicant households than for female principal applicant ones but the difference in the impact of education on male versus female is statistically significant only after WFP assistance. Once female principal applicant households receive assistance, either WFP or both WFP and UNHCR, income from employment is no longer associated with lower poverty risk. For male principal applicant households, income from employment continues to be linked to lower likelihood of household poverty, even after receiving assistance. Given that women’s access to jobs is particularly constrained, UNHCR and WFP assistance appears to play an important protective role. Whatever the level of assistance, receiving remittances from relatives remains an important factor in reducing poverty risk for both male</mark> and female principal applicant households.

<mark>Looking at the characteristics that are associated with higher poverty risk, we see that some are no longer associated with higher risk of poverty after assistance from both WFP and UNHCR has been received. WFP assistance alone is not enough to reduce the risk of poverty associated with a disabled person for either male or female principal applicant household. However, the combined assistance removes the association between household poverty and having a disabled person in the household, suggesting that UNHCR assistance is well targeted towards some of the most vulnerable households. However, households where elderly people live continue to face greater risk of poverty and the association is particularly strong for female principal applicant households after WFP and UNHCR assistance. Household size continues to be linked to a higher likelihood of household poverty for both male and female principal applicant households</mark> although its impact is reduced after assistance.

<mark>After receiving assistance, households with young children that have female principal applicants emerge as being more vulnerable to poverty than male principal applicant households with young children. The link between the number of adult males in the household and lower poverty risk is no longer present for female principal applicant households after combined assistance of WFP and UNHCR is received and appears to have a small but significant positive impact on the likelihood of poverty for male principal</mark> applicant households.

23