UNICEF racing to bolster the strength of 400,000 malnourished children in Iraq
Iraq, Health, 3/15/2003

A report issued spontaneously on March 11 in Baghdad, Geneva and Amman said that with the threats of war looming over Iraq, UNICEF is providing special therapeutic food for over 400,000 malnourished children across Iraq in an urgent effort to bolster their chances of survival in the event of a conflict.

Working closely with the Ministry of Health, UNICEF has trucked more than 1,000 metric tons of high protein biscuits into Iraq in recent days. The biscuits, which the Iraqi government is now delivering to health centers across the country, are part of an ongoing UNICEF campaign to reach Iraqi children with life-protecting nutrients and vaccines.

"We are still hoping for a peaceful resolution to this crisis," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy." But it's a fact that the children of Iraq are extremely vulnerable. Their health, their nutrition, their access to safe water -- all of which are weak already -- will be further jeopardized in a war. "By acting to reach them now, we hope to save lives in the weeks and months ahead," he said. The report added that UNICEF has also delivered 155 metric tons of therapeutic milk to feed children suffering from severe malnutrition -- the major underlying cause of death among children under five. A total of 10,000 severely malnourished children will benefit immediately from the therapeutic milk, which is now arriving in each of the 6.3 nutrition rehabilitation centers by the Iraqi Ministry of Health.

The report continued that the UNICEF deliveries constitute the first shipments of high protein biscuits and therapeutic milk into the country in two years. The supplies are sufficient to last for a month. UNICEF has also shipped nutritional supplies to its warehouses in the countries surrounding Iraq to enable a rapid response should a surge in malnutrition occur.

The report continued that Iraq has one of the highest rates of children under- five mortality in the world, with more than one in eight children dying before they reach their fifth birthday. Although it has improved in recent years, malnutrition also remains high, affecting one in four Iraqi children under the age of five- almost 1 million youngsters in total. Half of Iraq's 24.5 million people are children.

Learning the lessons of 1991, UNICEF has noted that child malnutrition in Iraq rose dramatically following the 1991 Gulf war, partly due to the destruction of infrastructure, partly due to poor use of available resources, and partly because of international sanctions, which have drastically reduced most families' purchasing power and thus their protein consumption ( a lack of meat in the diet). This explains why 60 percent of Iraqi women suffer from iron deficiency, which in turn contributes to children being underweight at birth.

"Today, almost a quarter of Iraqi children are born underweight, and a similar number under the age of five are malnourished." said Carol de Rooy, the UNICEF representative in Iraq. "That's serious enough. But war adds displacement, interruption of food and water supplies, and outbreaks of disease. Combined, these events would strike a heavy blow to a population of children who are already struggling to survive," he said.

Since 1991 UNICEF has supported the Ministry of Health to establish nutrition rehabilitation centers in children's hospitals. The agency provides training, specialized nutrition supplies, and materials. The effort was expanded with the development of 2, 800 Community Child Care Units that screen children for malnutrition. Primarily based in schools, the units have reached some 70 percent of children under five.

UNICEF said that malnourished children do not typically perish from hunger. "In this situation, when children are weak, diarrhea caused by unsafe water will kill, " warned de Rooy. "Tens of thousands of children are extremely vulnerable to any further deterioration in their health and nutrition status." he indicated.

Previous Stories:
  American- British raids on Iraq kill 6 Iraqis, 15 wounded   (3/4/2003)
  UNICEF and partners to immunize Iraqi children against polio and measles   (2/19/2003)
  UNICEF and partners to immunize Iraqi children against polio and measles   (2/19/2003)
  U.S.A. Churches delegation concludes visit to Iraq; American threats illegal and unchristian   (1/4/2003)
  Iraq sees 12 fold increase in cancer, depleted uranium cited   (2/18/2002)
  Iraq sees 12 fold increase in cancer, depleted uranium cited   (2/18/2002)
  Death toll rises to 15,336 in January   (2/7/2002)
  Egyptian medical team visits Iraq   (12/21/2001)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search