Development & Aid, Environment, Tierramerica

Humanitarian Emergency

Apr 7 2003 (IPS) - The war in Iraq has caused a humanitarian emergency affecting 27 million people. The conflict has obvious repercussions for a civilian population that is already suffering the lack of health care, food, water and housing, even if they are not directly threatened by bombs and bullets.

The humanitarian crisis in Iraq has triggered an international mobilization to gather support and resources for operations aimed at alleviating the suffering. The United Nations has announced that efforts to benefit civilian Iraqis will require at least 2.2 billion dollars.

Of that sum, 1.3 billion dollars would be earmarked for a gigantic operation to distribute essential items under the auspices of the World Food Program (WFP).

On its web page about the war in Iraq, WFP warns that this could become the largest humanitarian operation in history.

The alarm created by the scope of the humanitarian emergency is evident on the Internet, where specialized agencies of the UN, international organizations and a veritable avalanche of news items cover the issue, providing details of its emerging characteristics and potential magnitude.

The web site of the Center for Humanitarian Information on Iraq provides some of this data, while the Yahoo! directory allows web surfers access to a special section on links to humanitarian organizations.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner on Refugees has special operations under way in neighboring countries, awaiting up to 600,000 people who could be displaced from Iraq by the war.

UNICEF (UN Children’s Fund) has also issued a global alert: The children of Iraq have been trapped by war for the third time in 20 years. Nearly half the population of that country is under age 20. At least 166 million dollars are needed to provide them the assistance they need.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also has a special section of its web site dedicated to Iraq. There it announces that resources totaling 300 million dollars will be needed to confront the health challenges created by war.

The International Red Cross is present on the Internet, underscoring the need to respect international treaties in regards to treating prisoners of war. Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, expresses concern about the human rights violations occurring in the context of the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

UN: Iraq World Food Program: Crisis in Iraq UNHCR: Emergency in Iraq UNICEF: Iraq WHO: the situation in Iraq Human Rights Watch: Iraq Yahoo!: Iraq – Humanitarian Relief