UNICEF extends its support for education sector in Kurdistan

According to a statement by Ministry of Education of Iraq, country’s representative of UNICEF claimed that he has pledged to increase educational assistance for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Kurdistan Region.
Peter Hawkins, the UNICEF representative, met with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Education Minister, Pshtiwan Sadiq on March 7th 2016.
Education ministry of Iraq announced, “UNICEF reaffirmed its pledge of assistance to establish and rebuild schools and provide refugees with materials needed for studying.”
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said more than 3.1 million Iraqis have been displaced since January 2014 due to violence in the country and the conflict against the Islamic State (IS). Nearly one-third of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are in the Kurdistan Region.
With the help of UNICEF, the Kurdistan regional government has opened 53 schools since the massive influx of refugees began to enter the relatively safe Kurdistan Region.
Education ministry’s statement further revealed that the schools cost $25 million USD and over 400 additional schools have been reconstructed at a cost of $2.5 million USD.
The Japanese government approved a new package of humanitarian and stabilization support for Iraq in January 2015. The package includes $105 million USD for reconstructing devastated areas inside Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region.
KRG officials have repeatedly called for the international community to increase assistance for the region, which is currently facing an economic crisis.  The KRG blames the crisis on a number of factors including the fight against IS, a significant decrease in the price of oil and an influx of displaced Iraqis settled in the region.
The global slump in oil prices, fight against the Islamic State (IS) and an influx of Syrian refugees and displaced Iraqis have added more pressure on the KRG’s economy.