WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- The United States answered pleas from the U.N. High Commissioner for donors to support Iraqi refugees by offering more than $125 million in aid.
The U.S. State Department said the $125 million pledge is in addition to the $46 million it committed in January to provide assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons throughout the world.
A portion of the aid goes to UNHCR programs to provide essential services for Iraqi refugees in Iraq and neighboring countries. The aid also backs education and health service initiatives.
Some of the aid also goes to UNICEF to support education programs for Iraqi children seeking refuge in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
The World Food Program's Emergency Operation in Syria gets $5 million in U.S. support to distribute food rations to Iraqi refugees in Syria.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, praised the efforts of Jordan and Syria for providing basic humanitarian needs to Iraqi refugees on a recent diplomatic visit to the region.
The international community needs to work with countries hosting Iraqi refugees, Guterres said, because the burden placed on their infrastructure is taxing its humanitarian capabilities.
