The annual report provides an overview to the country situation in regards to children and women and summary of the humanitarian and developmental assistance of the UNICEF Jordan Country Office (JCO) in 2010. The report includes Jordan’s progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in addition to the analysis of the organization’s projects. The projects focus on assisting Iraqi children in education and strengthening young child survival and development and adolescents’ participation and empowerment. The analysis of the report is based on the progress and assessment of the JCO’s projects in partnership with other UN agencies;; local agencies and government ministries. Some highlights of the 2010 annual report include the Ma’An campaign to end violence in school;; the UNICEF’s partnership with the government in supporting Iraqi children in gaining access to public education and a joint programme to develop a tracking system to monitor family violence and abuse cases with other UN agencies and Jordan’s National Council for Family Affairs.

This report provides an overview of the status of early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Jordan;; Lebanon;; Sudan;; and Syria. It examines the contextual factors influencing ECCE;; highlighting current policies;; challenges;; and strategies for improvement and expansion. The report underscores the paucity and limitations of available data. Findings show that ECCE services have improved but regional disparity and dominance of the private sector prevail. None of the four countries but Jordan has a full-fledged national strategy and policy on ECCE. Challenges identified include lack of qualified teachers;; societal misconceptions about the unique features of early childhood;; and lack of research-based studies. Innovative projects show that NGOs have been instrumental in addressing the needs of marginalized children.