Anarchy Keeps Aid Workers From Entering Iraq
by Ferry Biedermann
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by Ferry Biedermann |
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(IPS) AMMAN --
There
is much help at hand for the Iraqis, but it is nowhere near them.
"We have so much material pre-positioned here, including special kits for the injured, water testing kits and high-protein food. We are just waiting until it's safe to go in," Fadela Chaib of the World Health Organization (WHO) told IPS. Like most other aid groups such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and United Nations organisations, WHO has set up shop in the Jordanian capital in anticipation of a humanitarian crisis after the war. British military officers say there is no crisis in the south of Iraq, but WHO thinks otherwise. The British say there is enough food and they are working on providing water, but WHO emphasizes that 1.5 million people in the south do not have clean drinking water. Chaib cannot say whether that is significantly worse than before the war started. Some 40 percent of people in the south are thought never to have had access to clean tap water. British commanders say a significant part of the population seems always to have received water from tankers, and they are doing their best to take over that function. Whatever the relative situation in the south, Chaib says people are suffering throughout the country. Civilian casualties have mounted. "In towns and villages across Iraq, people are getting wounded and the infrastructure is getting damaged," says Chaib. The children and the elderly are being hit particularly hard, she says. WHO emphasized the plight of children in Iraq on World Health Day this week. The theme was particularly appropriate even though it was picked more than a year ago, says Chaib. Iraq, like many other Arab countries, has a very large young population. "Twelve million people are under 18 in a population of 24 million," she says. "When people talk about civilian casualties, they also talk about a father or a mother who will not be there any more to raise their children." WHO expresses worries about the trauma of children from being directly hit, from experiencing the horror of war or from losing relatives. Carel de Rooij who heads the Baghdad office of the UN's children's organization UNICEF, but now in Amman, says he is worried about more immediate practical issues that WHO also mentions, such as clean water and the supply of medicines to hospitals. Chaib says that young children are particularly vulnerable to water-borne diseases. Diphtheria and diarrhea are the main concerns. They can quickly lead to dehydration and malnourishment. Another concern is the inability of hospitals, particularly in Baghdad, to cope with the flow of the wounded. "The ICRC is doing an incredible job," says Chaib, "but everybody is being overwhelmed by this." The ICRC and other health organizations have estimated that before the war Iraq had enough medical supplies to last three months under normal circumstances. "But these are not normal circumstances and at the moment it's anybody's guess what is needed in the hospitals," says Chaib. She expresses particular concern about war-related injuries like burns, which can lead to life-threatening infections. WHO has large numbers of special kits to deal with war injuries but finds the situation in Iraq still too insecure. Another worry is long-term care for diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart conditions, which have been interrupted. "Doctors have to prioritize now and maybe they are not able to properly care for those patients," says Chaib. The Iraqi health system is in any case in a deplorable condition after 12 years of sanctions and now the war. "Health care in Iraq used to be at a very high level 12 years ago," Chaib says. "It was comparable to that of Spain and Portugal. Now everything will have to be rebuilt." That task will certainly not be made easier by the extensive looting that is taking place now in Basra and Baghdad, where hospitals have been the targets.
Albion Monitor
April 9, 2003 (http://www.albionmonitor.net) All Rights Reserved. Contact rights@monitor.net for permission to use in any format. |
