UNICEF reopens 2,000 Iraqi schools in areas formerly controlled by IS group

Lord McConnell visited a UNICEF-supported school in west Mosul, one of the areas most affected by conflict and where children’s needs remain immense.

On his return from a visit to Iraq, Lord Jack McConnell, Vice-President of UNICEF UK, has hailed the efforts of the UN's agency in the re-opening of about 2,000 schools, in areas formerly controlled by the so-called Islamic State terror group.

Lord McConnell visited a UNICEF-supported school in west Mosul, one of the areas most affected by conflict and where children's needs remain immense. He also visited camps hosting Syrian refugees and displaced people from Sinjar and Mosul.

However, the UNICEF Representative to Iraq, Hamida Lasseko, who met Lord McConnell in the country, emphasized that the situation for children and young people in these regions remains bleak, and their future under threat: some 2.6 million are either out of school or at risk of missing out on their education.