War Aggravates Childhood Malnutrition in Iraq

Islamic Relief, an organization based in Britain, is one of the international aid agencies still operating in Iraq, despite the danger and hardship involved. "The instability throughout Iraq continues to make daily survival a struggle. The violence has also driven away many international aid agencies," states Islamic Relief’s monthly e-mail update, entitled "Children ‘Starving’ in Iraq," www.islamic-relief.com. Islamic Relief’s update this month highlights the findings of the UN Human Rights Commission, which UN hunger specialist Jean Ziegler presented at its annual meeting in Geneva. "He blamed the worsening situation in Iraq on the war," states the article. The report found that, "More than one quarter of Iraqi children do not get enough to eat, and are chronically malnourished…"

The update goes on to explain how the UN-imposed sanctions and subsequent war slowly transformed a situation of overabundance of food into one of starvation and malnutrition. In the 70’s and 80’s, Islamic Relief alleges, the biggest nutrition-related problem for children in Iraq was obesity! From 1990 on, when the UN imposed trade sanctions, malnutrition rates began to shoot up. The rate peaked at 11 percent and dropped to 4 percent during the Oil-for-Food program but increased again with the war. According to Islamic Relief, "Iraq’s child malnutrition rate is now much higher than in Uganda or Haiti."

The update outlines the multiple reasons behind this trend. "Malnutrition is not simply about children going hungry," they explain. The lack of clean water and sanitation, for example, causes children to drink contaminated water and suffer from dehydration. This also leads to decreased appetite and loss of nutrients. The malnourished children then become more susceptible to disease. This problem has become widespread, because Iraq’s water and sewer systems have collapsed. The untreated sewage spills into the rivers, widely contaminating the water supply. The unreliability of the electrical system further contributes to this problem. Often, the power is off, and people can’t boil the water to make it safe. In poorer areas, people depend on kerosene rather than electricity. The price of kerosene has shot up, and the people can’t afford it. This makes it harder for them to boil water or cook. This situation seems to be worse in southern Iraq.

Islamic Relief is telling us this, of course, because they want contributions. Why is it so urgent to contribute? Islamic Relief fears permanent damage to these children. Some are even in danger of dying, as evidenced by muscular wasting and general swelling in some children. "Over the long term, malnutrition can result in crippled growth and weakened immunity. Children who survive are often left physically and mentally impaired for life," they point out. Obviously, this is a problem well-meaning people in developed countries can do something about. As long as there are aid agencies willing to risk the danger of operating in Iraq, contributions can get to these children by helping the Iraqis to obtain clean water, food, and medical care.