While
the ailment "may sound trivial, in Iraq it kills," said the
agency's spokesman, Geoffrey Keele, noting that 70 percent of child
deaths before the war were the result of diarrhea or respiratory
infections, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
"We've
recorded a 2.5 increase in the number of children contracting diarrhea,
some chronically, compared to May last year. It means that 72 percent of
the children we surveyed had diarrhea," Keele told reporters.
He
said cholera, whose symptoms include heavy diarrhea leading to
dehydration and possible death in children, was also on the rise with 66
confirmed cases in Basra, southern Iraq.
The
disease has already killed three there and overwhelmingly struck those
under five years of age.
Other
diseases such as dysentery and typhoid, also spread through contaminated
water and food, are "becoming a real problem for children,"
Keele said.
He
said UNICEF provided health centers with appropriate treatments ahead of
Iraq's hottest summer months, July and August, when diarrhea typically
soars and deplored the country's "poor hygiene when it could
actually make all the difference."
 |
|
There
is an increase of water-borne illnesses of epidemic proportions
among Iraqi children
|
"There
are (currently) 500 breaks in Baghdad's water system alone that lead to
contamination with sewage," he said.
"And
before the war, more than 500,000 tons of sewage was dumped in Baghdad's
fresh water reserves. I don't think this has changed," he added.
A
spokeswoman for the World Food Program (WFP) said her organization had
started distributing food rations across the country for the first time
since the beginning of the war.
"But
it's not enough to get food to people if the water stays contaminated
and if there is poor sanitation," said Antonia Paradela, citing
water and food-borne diseases and rampant malnutrition.
The
U.S.-led administration in Iraq insists that restoring the battered
water treatment system is a top priority but says it suffered from
chronic under-investment under Saddam Hussein's ousted regime.
Repairing
it has been complicated by persistent problems with power generation.
The
broken-down electrical power stations caused by the war has led to the
frequent shutdown of pumping stations thus forcing people to find water
wherever they can.
When
the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrated
the world heath day this year, the theme of the year was "Healthy
Environments for Children" which pointed up the fact that each year
more than 5 million children aged 0-14 die from diseases and other
conditions caused by the environments in which they live, learn and play
(WHO).
Epidemic
Proportions
Before
the current invasion by U.S.-led forces on Iraq, the bombings of water
treatment centers, the destruction of sewage treatment plants, as well
as the inability to manufacture electric power essential for sewage and
water systems, all of which occurred during the first Gulf War, led to
an increase of water-borne illnesses of epidemic proportions among Iraqi
children.
The
deterioration
has affected all branches of the health care system. Health care
institutions and hospitals that were once well equipped, well supplied
and easily accessed by patients, have now become overcrowded, unhygienic
and foul smelling.
Hospitals,
due to the sharp lack in medical care and medicine, became no more than
a place for children to die. Doctors also are unpaid and exhausted.
