A new nutritional survey shows that 27% of under 5s in Iraq have chronic malnutrition, despite the widespread distribution of food in the largest relief operation in history.
The Baseline Food Security Assessment, the first ever such survey to be done in Iraq, also found that 6.5 million people (a quarter of the population) remain highly dependent on food aid.
Figure 1.
Years of international sanctions and war, combined with today's security situation, have contributed to serious malnutrition in Iraq
Credit: PETER DEJONG/AP
The assessment was done by the World Food Programme, a United Nations agency, in collaboration with Iraq's Central Statistics Office and the Ministry of Health's Nutrition Research Institute to evaluate the effectiveness of the current public distribution system that allocates food aid to most of the population.
Although the survey was done late in 2003, the results were not published until 29 September 2004. They show that, despite the widespread distribution of food aid, the prevalence of extreme poverty remains extremely high in rural areas, particularly among women and children: “Acute malnutrition (wasting rates) for children under 5 within the sample is 4.4 percent, underweight 11.5 percent, and chronic malnutrition or stunting is 27.6 percent.” Without the current distribution system, this number would increase dramatically, the survey adds.
“The political environment before the war made it impossible to analyse the level of poverty and hunger in the country,” explained Torben Due, the World Food Programme's director of operations in Iraq, “For the first time, we are getting an accurate picture of people's access to food. As a result, we are much better able to plan assistance.”
Paul Hetherington of Save the Children, one of the few agencies still operational in Iraq, told the BMJ, “These figures are clearly very shocking. Fifteen per cent under 5 chronic malnutrition is considered an emergency; for a middle income country like Iraq, a figure of 27% is quite astounding.
“It's almost as high as the current rates of 30% in Darfur. Iraq is one of the world's most difficult countries for aid agencies to operate and it's almost impossible for us to carry out routine humanitarian operations.”
The World Food Programme pointed out, “Years of international sanctions and nearly two decades of wars have destroyed Iraq's economy. Today's security situation is hampering effective social and economic recovery.”
“Despite receiving food rations from Iraq's Public Distribution System, these people are still struggling to cope,” said Mr Due. “Although food is generally available, the poorest households cannot afford to buy from the markets.”