Third of Iraqis 'need urgent aid'

[Eugene]

Source: BBC News

Last Updated: Monday, 30 July 2007, 00:02 GMT 01:02 UK

Third of Iraqis 'need urgent aid'

Nearly a third of the population of Iraq is in need of
immediate emergency aid, according to a new report from
Oxfam and a coalition of Iraqi NGOs.

The report said the Iraqi government was failing to provide
basic essentials such as water, sanitation, food, and shelter
to up to eight million people.

It warned the continuing violence was masking a humanitarian
crisis that had grown worse since the invasion in 2003.

It also found that four million Iraqis had been uprooted by
the violence.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6921617.stm

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Source: The Scotsman

Violence 'masking a humanitarian crisis'
LOUISE GRAY

ONE in three Iraqis need immediate emergency aid but conflict
in the country "masks the humanitarian crisis", according to
a new report.

Although the everyday threat of armed violence is the biggest
problem facing most ordinary Iraqis, eight million - almost a
third - are in urgent need of water, sanitation, food and
shelter, the report by Oxfam and the aid agency network NGO
Co-ordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI) said.

According to the report, four million citizens - 15 per cent
- regularly cannot afford to eat; 70 per cent are without
adequate water supplies; 28 per cent of children are
malnourished; 92 per cent of children suffer learning problems
and more than two million people - mostly women and children
- have been displaced inside Iraq. A further two million Iraqi
refugees have fled the country, mainly to Syria and Jordan.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1183432007

[struggle4progress]

1. 4 million Iraqis displaced since war began: Oxfam

Last Updated: Sunday, July 29, 2007 | 8:08 PM ET
CBC News

~snip~ The report by Oxfam and NCCI, a network of aid organizations working in Iraq, also highlighted other dire statistics:

* Four million Iraqis regularly cannot buy enough food.
* 70 per cent are without adequate water supplies, compared to 50 per cent in 2003.
* 28 per cent of children are malnourished, compared to 19 per cent before the 2003 invasion.
* 92 per cent of Iraqi children suffer learning problems, mostly due to the climate of fear.

The aid groups urged the Iraqi government, the United Nations and the international community to do more to meet Iraqi needs by supporting local aid organizations and extending food parcel distribution and cash payments to the vulnerable. ~snip~

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/07/29/oxfam-report.html