Iraq: Humanitarian Situation Improves

UNICEF has concluded a report which states that there are 500,000 fewer Iraqi children suffering from malnutrition, compared with a report issued in 1996, when the situation was at its worst, at 11% of children showing signs of malnutrition, due to the trade embargo following the Gulf War.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health passed documentation to UNICEF, which shows that there is a dramatic decrease in the number of children who do not have the daily supply of nutrients advised by the WHO. Proof of this is the statistic that the ratio of underweight children fell from 23% in 1996 to 9% in 2002.

UNICEF declared that the reason for the improvement was the decision by the Iraqi authorities to use the oil-for-food money on food and not weapons, good rainfall cycles and the corresponding harvests and nutrition programmes undertaken by the UNO. However, there is no cause for euphoria. There are still one million Iraqi children under five years of age who suffer from chronic malnutrition, 25% of the total of children under five in Iraq.

The notion that the USA was seriously considering waging war against these people is sickeningly evident of an evil force behind the scenes in Washington.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru