Assessment of the Food and Nutrition Situation:
Iraq, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
(September 13, 2000)
Nutritional problems remain serious in
the center-south of Iraq despite some
progress under the Oil-for-Food
Programme, according to a joint UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
and World Food Programme (WFP)
report released today. Malnutrition among
children is very serious outside Baghdad
and in rural areas, reflecting the effects of
drought and poverty.
In contrast, the situation in the north of the
country has significantly improved, acute
malnutrition levels having virtually
disappeared and chronic malnutrition
having been reduced by half, the report says.
"Child
malnutrition rates in the central and
southern parts of the country do not
appear to have improved significantly and
nutritional problems remain serious and
widespread," the report says. The
indication of high levels of malnutrition
explains the continuing high levels of infant
and child mortality, which, according to findings by the UN Children's
Fund (UNICEF), has
more than doubled since the end of the 1980s.
"The
nutritional status of school children ... is a cause for concern especially
for those from rural
areas and poor households. Micronutrient deficiencies are common and iron
deficiency anaemia
is high," the report says. According to the report, agriculture in Iraq
has deteriorated significantly
in the past few years, due to two consecutive years of severe drought,
a lack of investment and
a shortage of essential agricultural inputs. Cereal production this year
fell to 794,000 tonnes,
some 47 percent below the 1999 poor harvest and 64 percent lower than the
previous five
years' average, says the report. Drought conditions also drastically reduced
the water resources
in rivers, dams, lakes and canals, some of which have virtually dried up.
As a result, prospects
are unfavourable for the upcoming irrigated summer crops, vegetables and
fruits. Total
production of vegetables is anticipated to be about one million metric
tons, some 33 percent
below the 1997 level.
However, cereal imports under the UN
Oil-For-Food Programme have significantly
improved the food supply situation since
1997/98, the report said. In 1995/96 per person
cereal consumption reached 63 percent of the
1984/85-1988/89 average. In 2000/2001, it is
expected to rise to 90 percent of that level. The
mission estimated the average total daily dietary
energy available per person at around 2,500 kcal
which is above the World Health Organisation
(WHO)-recommended intake of 2,210 kcal.
However, food rations supplied under the
Oil-for-Food Programme and distributed nation-wide "do not provide a nutritionally
adequate
and varied diet," according to the report. While rations are reasonably
adequate in energy and
total protein, they lack vegetables, fruit and animal products. Many households
cannot afford to
supplement their diet with an adequate variety of micronutrient-rich foods
such as meat, milk
and vegetables.
The
mission also noted that more than half the adult population in Iraq is
overweight. While this
is not a new phenomenon to the region, it constitutes "a cause for concern,
with heart disease,
hypertension and diabetes the major reported causes of death in adults."
In
the north of the country, where the Oil-for-Food Programme is implemented
by the UN
Inter-Agency Humanitarian Programme on behalf of the Government of Iraq
with the
participation of FAO and WFP, there have been "significant improvements
in the nutritional
situation." Acute malnutrition has almost been eliminated and infant and
child mortality rates have
fallen, largely because the region is more self-sufficient in food and
receives far greater
assistance per person. Additionally, focus here is given to targetted nutrition
programmes, food
production, growth promotion and the early detection of malnutrition among
children under five.
The report points out that malnutrition is often
due to factors other than insufficient food - poor
water (both in quality and quantity) and poor
sanitation are key causes of repeated infections
resulting in infant and child malnutrition. Infections
in infants are associated with the decline in
breast-feeding, the early introduction of infant
formula and an increase in bottle-feeding. The
report calls for the maintenance and rehabilitation
of the water and sanitation system as a priority
for meeting basic needs as well as nutrition and
health education to promote best practices in
health, food and nutrition including support for
breast-feeding.
The report says that the supply of
pharmaceuticals in Iraq is not sufficient to meet
the needs of the population and health services
still remain far from adequate. Major constraints
include the dilapidated infrastructure and the limited electrical power
supply in hospitals and
health centres. Iraq's inability to import equipment and materials to purify
water has had a very
damaging impact on the population's health and nutrition, especially the
youngest children.
The
report mentions that specific intervention programmes for improving the
food, health and
nutrition situation under the Oil-for-Food Programme "have either not been
implemented or
have suffered very slow start-ups. The Supplementary Feeding Programme
recommended by
the UN Secretary General in 1998 has never been implemented," the report
said. "Although the
ceiling in oil exports from Iraq has been removed and oil prices increased,
there is no indication
to date of action being taken to implement this key initiative for the
benefit of malnourished
children." The report urges the Iraqi government to implement the programme
as soon as
possible.
There
are external assistance programmes outside the Oil-for-Food Programme targetting
the
malnourished and vulnerable segments of Iraq society. But the report notes
that international
donor response has been extremely weak. Donations have reached barely a
quarter of the
resources appealed for by agencies such as the World Food Programme for
operations
targeted on the most malnourished children.
While
highlighting the UN's latest efforts to improve the effectiveness of the
Oil-for-Food
Programme, the report recommends speeding up the process for approving
Oil-for-Food
contracts and ensuring the timely delivery of humanitarian imports, including
food and medicine.
The report also recommends more inputs for the rehabilitation of agriculture,
particularly seeds
and materials for water conservation and irrigation management.