Baghdad, Iraq – One in four Iraqi children suffers from chronic malnutrition, as poor security and poverty take their toll on the youngest generation, health and aid workers said Saturday.
The situation is worse in remote rural areas, where as many as one in three children suffers from problems associated with poor diet, such as stunted growth and low weight, according to a recent government report that surveyed 22,050 households in 98 districts across the nation.
“This can irreversibly hamper the young child’s optimal mental and cognitive development, not just their physical development,” said Roger Wright, the special representative in Iraq for the United Nations Children’s Fund, which provided support for the interagency report.
The study shows that Iraq’s food-rationing program has not been able to meet many families’ needs. Iraq’s continued instability is the main culprit, health experts said, disrupting food distribution networks, along with lack of sanitation and clean water.
Iraq’s lean days began long before the 2003 invasion by coalition forces. Food was in short supply in many parts of the country as early as the 1980s, when Saddam Hussein diverted billions of dollars to fund the war with Iran.
And after the 1991 Persian Gulf War, U.N. sanctions had a deadly effect on many communities, even as Hussein and his cronies shuttled between lavish banquets and gargantuan palaces.
But the government survey found that although malnourishment rates are lower than during Hussein’s time, the problem is growing.
The study reported that 9 percent of Iraqi children were “acutely malnourished,” even though enough food was being produced at the national level. The food shortages were generally caused by “a failure to ensure access to sufficient food at the household level,” the report said.
Aid workers say that filling the breach would be a relatively simple process if Iraq’s security situation were better.
