Iraqi children still face deadly food, medicine shortages

A mass funeral for 40 Iraqi children who died due to shortage in food and medicine in Iraq was held in Baghdad.

Although, Iraq and the UN approved and almost doubled the previous oil-for-food agreement, there are still obstacles from both parties hindering the implementation of the agreement.

The head of the Iraqi association for children's rights, Sultan El-Shawy, said the collective funeral passed through El-Eashed street before standing in front of the offices of the UN Program for Development in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Shawy, who participated in the funeral, said that Iraq and especially its children faced "destruction" because of the UN imposed economic sanctions

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Shawy delivered a message from the children's relatives to the representative of the UN program, adding that the number of deaths among Iraqi children since the sanctions were implemented is approaching 1.3 million. Iraqi official statistics state that about 9,000 children died last February due to the sanctions.