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Who
will remember the Iraqi children this World Health Day?
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April
7 of each year marks the date on which the World Health
Organization (WHO) celebrates World Health Day. This year’s
theme, "Healthy Environments for Children", highlights
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). In light of this, the first
Gulf War, the subsequent sanctions imposed by the United Nations
on Iraq for the past 11 years and the ongoing war on Iraq has and
will have a devastating effect on the children of Iraq.
The
situation in Iraq has been shocking for a long time before this
current war. The Iraqi’s have been living in inhumane conditions
for more than 10 years. This current war, ironically labeled by
the Anglo/American forces as “Operation Iraqi Freedom”, will
lead to a humanitarian crisis that will have grave consequences
for the Iraqi children that form half the population, as 50% of
all Iraqi’s are under the age of 17, and 4 million children
under the age of five.
These
children are at risk of being killed, physically injured, exposed
to psychological problems, disabilities, disease, displacement,
separation from family and loss of social services such as
schooling and health care during this war.
Children
Killed and Maimed
The most immediate risk to the Iraqi children is that of being
killed by the coalition bombings or of being shot; according to
news reports by ABC News, the bombing of the Iraqi Red Crescent
maternity hospital in Baghdad and other civilian buildings have
killed several children and wounded many others.
U.N.
officials in Amman said that 300 wounded civilians (most of whom
were women and children) had flooded a hospital in Hillah in just
one day. Two days later, seven to ten women and children were
killed in a van at a highway checkpoint by a barrage of U.S.
cannon fire (San Francisco Chronicle).
Deadly
Water
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More
than 100,000 children under the age of 5 are at risk of contracting
water-borne illnesses
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One of the greatest concerns for the well being of Iraqi children
is the water situation. Before the current invasion by
Anglo/American forces on Iraq, the sanctions imposed on the
country, 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. Over the past year, drinking unpotable water has
been the number one killer of children in Iraq, and now more than
100,000 children under the age of five are at high risk of
contracting water-borne illnesses according to UNICEF.
Disruptions
in electrical power supplies caused by the war has led to the
frequent shutdown of pumping stations thus forcing people to find
water wherever they can, including puddles in the streets. The
shortage of clean potable water in major cities such as Basra and
Baghdad make children at risk of being subject to major epidemics
including cholera, typhoid and black water fever, an extremely
deadly disease in children under five. The World Health
Organization has confirmed cases of black water fever and typhoid
in the southern city of Basra, which has been without water for
more than a week.
“Without
massive help in bringing in water, medical and food supplies, many
children and pregnant women will not survive this conflict,”
said UNICEF Iraq operations head Carel de Rooy (Agence France
Presse).
The
situation is becoming more urgent as temperatures rise to the high
30s (Celsius) in southern Iraq. Distribution of potable water in
combat zones is extremely limited and when it does get through it
usually goes to the strongest leaving the most vulnerable,
including children, at a loss. The war has also caused additional
contamination of rivers and canals by raw sewage.
Health Crisis
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Oil
fires are generating vast amounts of toxic smoke
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Malnourishment
and disease have had a permanent place in the lives of Iraqi
children since the imposition of the UN sanctions. At least
500,000 children have died as a direct result of the UN sanctions.
According to the UN, one fourth of Iraqi children under the age of
five are malnourished and the situation may turn into a
catastrophe under the current conditions of war. Many children
will not survive if massive water, food and medical supplies are
not delivered.
Hospitals
lacking in all medical supplies and equipment serve only as places
for diseased children to die. Doctors are underpaid, exhausted and
working under outrageous conditions. The chief of the Russian
Committee of the Red Cross said it was too dangerous for doctors
to work in Iraq, which means the children would have to be
evacuated to neighbouring countries like Iran and Jordan. The lack
of medicine in Iraqi hospitals has also made it essential for the
Iraqi children to be moved.
The
oil fires and oil-filled trenches that have been burning in Iraq,
together with the bomb-ignited fires in Baghdad and other cities,
are generating vast amounts of toxic smoke. Children and people
with respiratory problems are at an immediate risk of harm by
contaminants such as sulfur, mercury, dioxins and furans.
Dangerous pollutants are likely to be released due to bombings of
industrial facilities in Baghdad by the coalition forces.
Cancer
and Birth Defects
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Deformities
have seen an increase of 4- to 6- fold since 1990
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The
use of Depleted Uranium (DU), which is basically nuclear waste, by
the U.S in its shells in the first Gulf War has been linked to a
fourfold increase in childhood leukaemia in Iraq. Cancers have
shown between a 7- to 10-fold increase, while deformities have increased
between 4- and 6-fold since 1990. After the war, Iraq was not
permitted to import the clean-up equipment it desperately needed
to decontaminate the country of the DU ammunition that was used by
the U.S against them. It is estimated that 315 tons of DU dust was
left in Iraq due to the use of such ammunition. By comparing the location of cancer cases to air raids across Iraq, from Basra and
Kerbala to Baghdad, the relation between DU and cancer is obvious.
In southern Iraq, which witnessed the greatest concentration of
fired DU, the rising numbers of cases is overwhelming.
The use of DU ammunition by the U.S in this war will assure even
more cases of cancer and birth defects. DU dust gets into the
water and soil and can be ingested or inhaled. Children are
especially at risk and many of them tend to play with pieces of
shrapnel left behind after air raids.
Psychological
Effect of the War
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Many
cases of psychological trauma have emerged
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Besides the damage to infrastructure, the war has also caused
psychological damage to the Iraqi children. UNICEF has warned that
as many as 500,000 children may be in need of psychological help
as a result of trauma suffered during the war.
According
to Geoffrey Keele, the UNICEF spokesperson in Iraq, many cases of
childhood psychological trauma have emerged. This has been seen in
children living through major aerial bombardments. They show
terror fits, nightmares, continuous crying, and jumping at sudden
noises (ABC).
Mental
disorders seen in Iraqi children include anxiety, depression, and
behavioral disorders. Children who survive the current war and who
have already gone through years of difficult and sometime dire
circumstances are likely to sustain lasting psychological problems
and may even be scarred for life.
On
a day when the world is deliberating more healthy environments for
our children, it seems that the world community can currently do
nothing more than pray for the well-being of the Iraqi children at
a time when power and might force their will on the weak and
defenseless regardless of world opinion.
Sources:
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ABC
News, 2003: US
bombs hit Iraqi hospital: witnesses.
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Agence
France Presse, 2003: Time
Running Out for Iraqi Children: UNICEF. Arab News.
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Lecumberri,
Beatriz, 2003: As war rages, fears for a new generation of Iraqi children.
Agence France-Presse
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BBC
News, 2000: Child
death rate doubles in Iraq.
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BBC
News, 2002: Iraq's
children suffer as war looms.
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2003:
UN
Special Representative Calls For Protection Of Iraqi Children During
Conflict.
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Reese,
Charley, 1999: Iraqi children. The Orlando Sentinel
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Fisk,
Robert, 2001: Iraqi
Children Dying Of US And British DU Ten Years After Gulf War.
Independent.
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Cusack,
Agnes, 2003: Iraqi
children at risk from disease and trauma. ABC.
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Lowy
Joan, 2003: Pollutants,
health risks rise in Iraq region U.N. assesses satellite images.
Seattlepi.
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Reliefweb,
2003: UNICEF
'deeply troubled' over deteriorating conditions for Iraqi children.
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An
Interview With Denis J. Halliday
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Stojanovic,
Dusan, 2002: UN
Sanctions Hurting Iraq Children. Global policy.
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Sengupta,
Kim, 2003: Allied bombs threaten a new generation of children with trauma,
disease and death
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Hanley,
Charles J., 2003: Civilian
toll, war's underside, mounts as U.S. forces approach Baghdad. SFGate.
Aisha
El-Awady is an IslamOnline.net staff-writer. She has a
bachelor’s degree in medicine from Cairo University and is currently working
as instructor of Parasitology in the Faculty of Medicine. She may be
contacted at aawady@islam-online.net
