The Gulf Crisis that erupted in August, 1990 brought Jordan widespread economic devastation, increased poverty, the threat of hunger, health setbacks, and other hardships. Just as the country's economy was beginning to pull out of a lingering recession, Jordan was struck by the economic embargo against Iraq, the influx of over a million evacuees or repatriates, and the war itself. The results were economic collapse and massive human displacement. Some 50,000 jobs of family members working in Kuwait and Iraq were lost, relegating nearly one in three Jordanians to life near or below the poverty line. Results of a rapid assessment study conducted by the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) in late 1990 confirmed the devastating impact of the war on the nation's poor in the areas of nutrition, health care, education, and the long-term effects of hunger, illness, and interrupted education. Malnutrition and ill health threaten over 250,000 children under the age of 12. The health system is under pressure from increased demand, bottlenecks in importing medicine, the rising cost of health care, declining hygiene, and increasing ignorance about health. Even though many poor children cannot afford the costs of attending school, the education system is under pressure from immigrants and students who can no longer afford private education. Jordan urgently needs international assistance in expanding job opportunities for the poor, assuring affordable food prices, maintaining minimum nutrition standards, protecting access to health services, and stemming a possible deterioration in educational quality. (AC)