lack of water has raised the spectre of disease for its 1.7 millions residents

[Henk Elegeert]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=6556&Cr=iraq&Cr1=relief

"
24 March – Local employees of United Nations relief agencies fanned out
inside Iraq and around its borders today to bring aid to the civilian
population, with particular concern focused on the country's second
city, Basra, where lack of water has raised the spectre of disease for
its 1.7 millions residents, especially 100,000 children under the age of
five.

"There must now be a threat of disease as tens of thousands of people in
their homes, hospitals and care institutions attempt to cope and find
what water they can from the river and other sources," UN Children's
Fund (UNICEF) spokesman Geoffrey Keele told a briefing in Amman, Jordan,
on the UN's relief activities. "Unfortunately, the river is also where
sewage is dumped."

Noting UNICEF's role as the lead agency for water in the emergency and
that this was the third day Basra was reported to be without water
because of frequent power cuts, he said: "As UNICEF has warned, bad
water costs lives, especially among the most vulnerable. And the
children of Iraq are some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

"Not only are they suffering from high rates of malnutrition, in Basra
there is the very real possibility now of child deaths, not only from
the conflict, but from the additional effects of diarrhoea and
dehydration. We estimate that at least 100,000 children under the age of
five are at risk."

UNICEF is looking at ways to provide emergency water supplies as soon as
conditions allow and is also at work in Baghdad focusing on the urgent
need for clean water in the capital's hospitals, Mr. Keele said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) added its voice to the concern,
warning that the health situation could  deteriorate quickly. It said
teams from the International Committee of the Red Cross had managed to
restore service for some 40 per cent of the population but that would
only partially and temporarily cover needs.

Re-hydration is one of the most efficient and cost-effective measures
against diarrhoea-related diseases, the second cause of mortality among
children under the age of five, WHO spokesperson Fadela Chaib said, but
the use of re-hydration salts requires clean water. In similar past
situations in Iraq, diarrhoea diseases have accounted for 25 to 40 per
cent of deaths during the acute phase of the emergency, with 80 per cent
of deaths in under-two-year olds. Women and children will be the most
affected group, she added.

...

"

Zie ook:
http://www.un.org/News/dh/pages/030324.ram

**********
Dit bericht is verzonden via de informele D66 discussielijst (D66 at nic.surfnet.nl).
Aanmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SUBSCRIBE D66
Afmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SIGNOFF D66
Het on-line archief is te vinden op: http://listserv.surfnet.nl/archives/d66.html
**********