| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC July 27, 2007 UNHCR/UNICEF Joint Appeal: Providing Educational Opportunities to Iraqi Children in Host CountriesThe United States is pleased to note that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have today announced their $129 million Joint Appeal to Provide Educational Opportunities for Iraqi Children in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. The United States expects to contribute generously to this appeal.
Having identified education of Iraqi children as its single most important issue, the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration is grateful that UNHCR and UNICEF have responded robustly to the urgency the U.S. has placed on getting Iraqi children into school this fall. The U.S. is also pleased that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has announced that it will give all Iraqi children in Jordan access to Jordanian schools. The UNHCR/UNICEF Joint Appeal will help all school-age Iraqi students with the cost of tuition, books, supplies and uniforms; and will fund staff recruitment and training, remedial classes, psycho-social services, upgrading of water and sanitation services, building of new schools or upgrading of existing structures and advocacy campaigns. UNHCR estimates that 500,000 school-age Iraqi children now live in neighboring countries. This appeal will address short- and medium-term educational needs of these children, the future of Iraq, who might otherwise grow up without education. 2007/646 |
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