8/7/2019 03-17-08 BBC-Bleak Picture of Iraq Conditions

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Last Updated: Monday, 17 March 2008, 00:59 GMT

Bleak picture of Iraq conditionsMillions of Iraqis have little or no access toclean water, sanitation and healthcare, fiveyears after the US-led invasion, according tothe Red Cross.

The Swiss-based agency says Iraq's humanitariansituation is "among the most critical in the world".

It warned that despite better security in someareas, millions had been left essentially to fend forthemselves.

Some families spend a third of their averagemonthly wage of $150 (£75) just buying cleanwater, the report found.

'Worse than ever' An even worse humanitarian crisis in Iraq will only be averted if much more attentionis paid to the everyday needs of Iraqi citizens, the report by the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross said.

Healthcare in Iraq was "now in worse shape thanever" and the services that are available are tooexpensive for many people, the report said.

Iraqi hospitals lack qualified staff and basic drugs,facilities are not properly maintained and public

hospitals provide only 30,000 beds, less than half of the 80,000 needed, the Red Cross reports.

The agency said the current situation had beenexacerbated for the 27m population by decades of previous conflict and economic sanctions.

Vanishings The report also says that tens of thousands of Iraqis had effectively disappearedsince the start of the war.

"Many of those killed in the current violence have never been properly identified,because only a small percentage of the bodies have been turned over to Iraqigovernment institutions," it said.

Violence rates in the country have fallen 60%since last June, although the US militarycommander there, Gen David Petraeus, says thesecurity gains are fragile and could be easilyreversed.

But Beatrice Megevand Roggo of the Red Crosssaid: "Better security in some parts of Iraq must

Iraqi hospitals lack qualified staff and basic

drugs, the report said

Many Iraqis still lack basic sanitation

Despite security gains, many Iraqis stillsuffer bloodshed

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not distract attention from the continuing plight of millions of people who haveessentially been left to their own devices."

Tens of thousands of Iraqis - nearly all men - are in detention, according to theagency, including 20,000 inmates at Camp Bucca near Basra, which is run by US-ledmultinational forces.

Iraq is the Red Cross's largest operation worldwide with an annual budget of $106m(£52m) and 600 staff.