The U.S. State Department announced Monday that it is contributing to a fund for educational programs for refugee Iraqi children. The U.S. government is contributing $30 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The joint effort will provide educational opportunities for Iraqi children that have left Iraq because of the violence and are now living in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. “We commend the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for its decision permitting all Iraqi children in Jordan access to Jordanian schools with the opening of the fall semester on August 19,” the State Department said in a statement. The United States' contribution to the UNHCR/UNICEF Joint Appeal will help displaced Iraqi students with the cost of tuition, books, supplies and uniforms. The money will also fund teacher 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 encouraging school attendance, the State Department said. With the inclusion of the $30 million contribution, the Department of State, both directly and through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has made over $183 million available this fiscal year to assist Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons within Iraq the statement said.
