Page "Saddam Hussein" Paragraph 25

Within just a few years, Iraq was providing social services that were unprecedented among Middle Eastern countries.

Saddam established and controlled the " National Campaign for the Eradication of Illiteracy " and the campaign for " Compulsory Free Education in Iraq ," and largely under his auspices, the government established universal free schooling up to the highest education levels ; hundreds of thousands learned to read in the years following the initiation of the program.

The government also supported families of soldiers, granted free hospitalization to everyone, and gave subsidies to farmers.

Iraq created one of the most modernized public-health systems in the Middle East, earning Saddam an award from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ).