Monday, July 30, 2007
Oxfam - eight million Iraqis require emergency aid
Humanitarian
(Al Jazeera) - Up to eight million Iraqis require immediate emergency aid, with nearly half of the population living in "absolute poverty", according to a report by Oxfam and a coalition of Iraqi groups. About four million people are lacking food and "in dire need of different types of humanitarian assistance", said the report, released in Amman on Monday.
"Iraqis are suffering from a growing lack of food, shelter, water and sanitation, health care, education, and employment," said the report, compiled by Oxfam and the NGO Co-ordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI). The report also says two million people within the country are currently displced, while more than two million are refugees.Most of those refugees have fled to Jordan and Syria.
"Many of the figures and percentages in the report were actually derived from UN sources… so we concur with the findings" said Said Arikit, spokesman for the UN mission in Iraq. Said Arikit, a spokesman for the UN mission in Iraq, told Al Jazeera the report painted a "grim picture. Many of the figures and percentages in the report were actually derived from UN sources… so we concur with the findings," he said.
"Iraqis are suffering from a growing lack of food, shelter, water and sanitation, health care, education, and employment," said the report, compiled by Oxfam and the NGO Co-ordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI). The report also says two million people within the country are currently displced, while more than two million are refugees.Most of those refugees have fled to Jordan and Syria.
"Many of the figures and percentages in the report were actually derived from UN sources… so we concur with the findings" said Said Arikit, spokesman for the UN mission in Iraq. Said Arikit, a spokesman for the UN mission in Iraq, told Al Jazeera the report painted a "grim picture. Many of the figures and percentages in the report were actually derived from UN sources… so we concur with the findings," he said.
"The government of Iraq is definitely the authority in Iraq and it bears responsibility for the welfare of its people." Iraqi services have been left in crisis as most of those seeking refuge are professionals, according to the report. "The 'brain drain' that Iraq is experiencing is further stretching already inadequate public services, as thousands of medical staff, teachers, water engineers, and other professionals are forced to leave the country," it said.
The entry of Iraqi refugees to neighbouring countries has placed a growing strain on health, education and social services in the two countries. Only 60 per cent of the four million people who depend on food assistance have access to rations from the government-run public distribution system, down from 96 per cent in 2004, the report said.
The number of Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies has risen from 50 per cent to 70 per cent since 2003. The lack of effective sanitation was also highlighted by the joint report, which said 80 per cent of people in Iraq did not have safe access. The report said children were the hardest hit by the fall in living standards, stating child malnutrition rates have risen from 19 per cent before the US-led invasion in 2003 to 28 percent currently.
"Despite the constraints imposed by the government of Iraq, the UN and the international donors can do more to deliver humanitarian assistance to reduce unnecessary suffering," the report said. One recommendation called for the government of Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, to decentralise the distribution of aid to local authorities, and make it easier for civil society organisations to operate.
The entry of Iraqi refugees to neighbouring countries has placed a growing strain on health, education and social services in the two countries. Only 60 per cent of the four million people who depend on food assistance have access to rations from the government-run public distribution system, down from 96 per cent in 2004, the report said.
The number of Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies has risen from 50 per cent to 70 per cent since 2003. The lack of effective sanitation was also highlighted by the joint report, which said 80 per cent of people in Iraq did not have safe access. The report said children were the hardest hit by the fall in living standards, stating child malnutrition rates have risen from 19 per cent before the US-led invasion in 2003 to 28 percent currently.
"Despite the constraints imposed by the government of Iraq, the UN and the international donors can do more to deliver humanitarian assistance to reduce unnecessary suffering," the report said. One recommendation called for the government of Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, to decentralise the distribution of aid to local authorities, and make it easier for civil society organisations to operate.
Labels: aid, children, Co-ordination Committee in Iraq, humanitarian aid, IDPs, Iraqi refugees, Oxfam, poverty, Said Arikit
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
ICRC to increase aid operations in Iraq
Humanitarian
(RFE/RL) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has announced a massive increase in its aid operations in Iraq. The ICRC said it planned to expand operations along with the Iraqi Red Crescent to reach some 660,000 displaced people, about twice as many as before. The Geneva-based organization said it is seeking $30 million to fund the expansion of its relief work in Iraq.
Labels: humanitarian aid, ICRC, IDPs, Iraqi Red Crescent Society, relief work
Saturday, April 21, 2007
E.U. - no urgent need to accept more Iraqi refugees
Humanitarian
(AP) - European Union nations said Friday there was no urgent need to accept more Iraqi refugees, agreeing only to consider sending more humanitarian aid to Syria and Jordan to take in Iraqis. German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters that EU justice and interior ministers did not consider the current refugee crisis urgent enough for Europe to open its doors to more asylum-seekers from Iraq.
"The situation is not such at the moment that we have to start emergency measures. At the moment, the problem is such that we should try to tackle it locally in the region," Schaeuble said. "The amount of money we can use to resettle them here could best be spent there because you can help ten times more refugees there."
However, EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said he would set aside up to $9.5 million in special funds to help EU nations if they want to take in more Iraqis. EU officials also said that on top of $15.2 million already sent to Jordan, Syria and Iraq to help pay for housing, feeding and hosting fleeing Iraqis, they were readying an additional $13.6 million, which could be disbursed later this year.
The U.N. refugee agency and human rights groups have urged the EU to help ease the burden on Jordan and Syria and take in more Iraqis until the security situation in Iraq improves. About 50,000 people continue to flee Iraq every month, mostly to those two countries, according to the UNHCR.
"The situation is not such at the moment that we have to start emergency measures. At the moment, the problem is such that we should try to tackle it locally in the region," Schaeuble said. "The amount of money we can use to resettle them here could best be spent there because you can help ten times more refugees there."
However, EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini said he would set aside up to $9.5 million in special funds to help EU nations if they want to take in more Iraqis. EU officials also said that on top of $15.2 million already sent to Jordan, Syria and Iraq to help pay for housing, feeding and hosting fleeing Iraqis, they were readying an additional $13.6 million, which could be disbursed later this year.
The U.N. refugee agency and human rights groups have urged the EU to help ease the burden on Jordan and Syria and take in more Iraqis until the security situation in Iraq improves. About 50,000 people continue to flee Iraq every month, mostly to those two countries, according to the UNHCR.
Labels: E.U., Franco Frattini, humanitarian aid, Iraqi refugees, Jordan, Syria, UNHCR, Wolfgang Schaeuble
