It was developed, and is operated, by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in conjunction with the Government of Jordan.

[4] At that time Jordan already had some 600,000 registered refugees within its borders, with that country's officials saying the real number could be twice that.

[5] Among other effects, this made it difficult for refugees to keep their mobile phones charged and thus stay in contact with family members outside the camp.

[10] The most commonly cited reasons for refugees not wanting to stay there were very hot temperatures in the summer months, continued chronic absences of electricity, and high food prices.

In November 2015, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson visited the camp, as part of trying to bolster his foreign policy expertise during his 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

[14] He concluded that rather than refugees coming to the United States, they should be sheltered in nearby countries in the Middle East.

[15] By early 2016, another problem with filling the camp were the large numbers of refugees being held up at a military-controlled area along the border with Syria where there was slow processing of them due to security and other reasons.

[11] Efforts to improve the electricity situation at the camp continued, with a 6-megawatt, $10 million solar power project underway, the first parts of which were scheduled to come online in mid-2016.

[9] In March 2019 the Women and Girls Safe Space Centre was opened within the camp by the Danish Refugee Council.