Children in Post-War
IRAQ
The UNICEF Actions in Iraq is tremendous;
UNICEF is working in the following fields in Iraq; Health,
Nutrition, Water and Sanitation, Education, and Child Protection
HEALTH:
Isuues:
Destruction of the Vaccine and Serum Institute during the
war;
Looting of the country’s cold chain system that preserves
vaccine supplies;
Iraq’s entire vaccine supply spoiled;
Difficulties faced by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in
communicating with health facilities in the governorates.
Actions:
Assisted reactivation of national
routine immunization programme;
Supported on-the-job training in 1,150
health centres in Primary Health Care (PHC) and Maternal Health Care (MHC)
centres;
School Health Campaign commensed;
80 PHCs and 20 delivery rooms being
rehabilitated;
Supplies delivered include 623 emergency
health kits, 336 emergency obstetric kits, 18 vehicles for Expanded Programme of
Immunization (EPI) services, 6 million Oral Dehydration Salt sachets (ORS);
“Office in a Box” kits for MOH and
Directorates of Health.
Impact:
The reactivation of routine immunization has helped protect
approximately 4.5 million children against preventable diseases;
National cold chain system now functioning almost at
pre-war levels;
Prevention of dehydration during Cholera and diarrhea
disease outbreaks.
NUTRITION
Issues:
War time collapse of the 3,000 strong Community Child Care
Units (CCCUs) screening and referral system for malnourished children;
Cases of diarrhea disease among under five children between
May and August 2003 more than doubled compared to 2002;
Acute malnutrition rate rose from 4% before the war to 7.6%
as of 1 May 2003;
1,375 severely malnourished under 5 children were referred
to and treated in Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (NRCs) since April 2003;
275,400 under 5s were found suffering from mild underweight,
309,160 from moderate underweight and 81,680 from severe underweight.
Action
Uniscales, measuring mats and tapes, referral cards, and
furniture distributed to CCCUs, NRCs and PHCs;
225 training courses conducted for more than 5,400 CCCUs
volunteers and PHC health workers;
More than 3,000 MT of High Protein Biscuit (HPB) and 150 MT
og Therapeutic Milk (THM) distributed:
10 million capsules of vitamin A delivered to all
governorates for national Vitamin A campaign;
Assessed all salt factories and wheat flour mills to
provide baseline data for achieving Universal Salt Iodization (USI) and to
address iron deficiency anaemia;
Provided 30 MT of potassium iodate and 30 mixers by mid
November to support achievement of USI.
Impact:
More than 400,000 children under 5 screened for
malnutrition since end of the war
(822,720 children for the year 2003 so far);
2,258 CCCUs and 78 NRCs reactivated and currently
operational;
Over 120,000 children under 5 and around 200,000 pregnant
and lactating women have received HPB;
Over 70,000 children under 2 and over 50,000 lactating
mothers have received supplementary vitamin A.
WATER AND SANITATION
Issues:
Large scale looting of water and sewage infrastructure;
Looting of water from pipelines leading to breaks in the
network, contamination, and reduced water pressure affecting households;
Short supply of water treatment chemicals;
Decayed state of infrastructure;
Sewage flooding in many communities;
Collapse of municipal garbage collection services;
Infrequent electricity supply;
Sabotage of water and electricity networks.
Action:
14,6 million litres of water provided every day by UNICEF
to deprived areas of Baghdad, Basra, Mosul and Kirkuk;
Garbage collection in capitals of all 15 Centre and South
governorates, including 7 out of 9 districts in Baghdad;
On-going rehabilitation of water projects in Kerbala, Salah
Eldeen, Qadissua, Najaf, Babil, and other governorates;
On-going repair of water distribution network;
Generators overhauled and more than 350,000 litres of fuel
supplied every day in Baghdad;
Provided chlorine and other water treatment chemicals.
Impact
Better access to water improves the hygiene and health of
children;
Over 850,000 people receive potable water every day;
Garbage collected in capital cities of all 15 S/C
governorates benefits over 5,5 million people every day;
When completed, the rehabilitation of compact water
treatment units in Baghdad will benefit nearly 1 million people.
EDUCATION
Issues
Decayed state of schools (8,000 schools need rehabilitation
– 5,000 new schools need to be built);
Destruction of some schools during the war, with others
used to store munitions;
Many schools were looted. Most schools lack sufficient
supplies;
Widespread insecurity means some children too scared to go
to school, especially girls;
Pre-war data showed only 76% of children attending school
(31.5% of girls and 17.5% of boys not attending);
Outdated teaching methods used.
Action
Supported the country-wide organization of the end-of-year
examination for 5.5 million children;
Undertook damage assessments of schools in Iraq;
Supported local communities to help ensure the protection
of girls going to school;
Initiated psycho-social care programme to help alleviate
the impact of war on children;
Provided 69,247 “Schools in Box Kits”;
Printing of 46 million textbooks;
Provided “Office in a Box” kits to the MOE and the DOEs;
Support to strengthen the Education Management Information
System (EMIS) through the development and implementation of new school survey;
Rehabilitation of 65 primary schools.
Impact
5.5 million pupils were able to take their final exams in
June-July;
Contributed to the re-opening of schools at start of new
school year;
5.5 million children to receive school supplies;
Over 136,000 teachers to receive teaching supplies.
CHILD PROTECTION
Isuues
Increase in the number of street children in Baghdad and
other governorates;
Breakdown in law and order led to rise in violence against
children; fear of rape and abduction is widespread;
Rise in substance abuse among children, including inhalants
and prescription medication;
Left over munitions and cluster bombs litter the country
injuring children on a daily basis;
Action
With 5 NGOs undertook country-wide child-protection
assessment;
Contributed to development of a protective environment
focusing on the most vulnerable children;
Collaborated with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
(MOLSA) and NGOs to establish child friendly spaces and safe environments
including:
