Electronic Iraq : Aid & Development

Warnings against a large-scale refugee return in Iraq

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:40:06 CST

The Iraqi government should review its policy of encouraging Iraqi refugees to return home by offering them free plane or bus tickets, until it is able to ensure security, local and international NGOs said. "For the time being, the government should take care of the refugees and meet their daily needs in their host countries until it can secure suitable life conditions to allow them to go back to their homes," said Basil al-Azawi, head of the Baghdad-based Commission for Civil Society Enterprises, an umbrella group of over 1,000 NGOs operating inside and outside Iraq.

House to house polio vaccinations

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:27:21 CST

House-to-house polio vaccination will reach all 5,068,918 Iraqi children under five, according to a statement by the World Health Organization. For the first time since 2003, all health centers have been able to deploy house to house vaccinators teams. Safe passage of vaccinators in all targeted areas was granted. Acceptance rate by families and local communities was excellent and no serious incident was reported.

One of a million enemies: aging water supply networks

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:30:31 CST

At least 17 percent of piped water nationwide, and one-third of the water in Baghdad, is not potable, according to a survey by the Iraqi Health Ministry. "The percentage of dirty water not fit for human consumption could lead to diseases more dangerous than cholera, such as some kinds of life-threatening hepatitis and diarrhea," the ministry said in a statement.

Nokia and UNICEF partner to build schools in Iraq

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:38:14 CST

The Nokia mobile communications company and UNICEF have launched a unique public-private partnership for children in Iraq to rebuild eight primary schools affected by conflict, displacement and poverty. The $1 million initiative is operating in two of the poorest areas in southern Iraq and the northern Kurdish region with the goal of creating safe, stimulating school environments in which children can receive a quality education.

Some Iraqis return home from Syria; thousands more register for food aid

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:34:41 CST

Several hundred Iraqis returned home from Syria this week and last, but thousands more continue to register with the UN in Damascus to receive vital food aid, underscoring the hardship faced by the huge refugee community. Some 150 Iraqi refugees flew back to Baghdad on 15 October on a flight paid for by the Iraqi government, the first such assisted return since November 2007, in a move officials said was made possible by improved security in Iraq.

Cholera deaths rise to eight as disease spreads

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:21:58 CST

About 500 confirmed cholera cases have been registered in Iraq since the latest outbreak of the disease on 20 August. Eight people have died. The Iraqi Health Ministry and the World Health Organization have blamed the country's rundown water and sanitation infrastructure for the outbreak.

Anbar's Displaced Stay Away

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:55:27 CST

Jabbar Salman, 47, lives with his four family members in a small house in the al-Rashad neighborhood close to the largely Shia Sadr City, an east Baghdad suburb. They have been there since they were forced to flee their spacious home in Anbar province, in western Iraq, in February 2006. While Salman is upset that he has to live in cramped conditions, he said he cannot go back to Anbar.

Over 400 confirmed cholera cases so far

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:48:41 CST

The number of confirmed cholera cases has risen to 418 in central and southern Iraq, with six dead since an outbreak began on August 20. The Iraqi Health Ministry and the World Health Organization have blamed the country's rundown water and sanitation infrastructure for the outbreak. Cholera is a gastro-intestinal disease typically spread by contaminated water. It can cause severe diarrhea, which in extreme cases can lead to fatal dehydration. Treating drinking water with chlorine and improving hygiene conditions can prevent the disease.

Government of Iraq's $80 billion budget ignores displaced Iraqis

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:02:00 CST

Refugees International accused the Government of Iraq of ignoring the welfare of four million displaced Iraqis after an Iraqi parliamentary committee made its third request this year for funding to assist them. As the Iraqi parliamentary committee on displacement and migration requested $4 billion of next year's $78.8 billion budget, Refugees International called on the Government of Iraq to immediately provide the requested funding and design a strategy to adequately respond to the crisis. Refugees International also urged the U.S. government to provide the Government of Iraq with the support needed to take these essential steps as the humanitarian needs of internally displaced Iraqis and Iraqi refugees continue to increase.

Number of cholera cases nearly doubles

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:56:59 CST

More than 300 confirmed cholera cases have been registered in central and southern Iraq since an outbreak began on August 20, with almost 50 percent of the cases occurring in the past week, the health ministry's cholera unit has said. The Iraqi Health Ministry and the World Health Organization have blamed the country's rundown water and sanitation infrastructure for the outbreak.

Plane-load of Iraqis due to be repatriated this week

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:07:36 CST

The Iraqi embassy in Amman is organizing the repatriation by plane of dozens of Iraqi families who wish to return home, despite warnings from UN agencies about the security situation. Iraqi diplomats in Amman said they had chartered a plane to repatriate the Iraqis later this week, during the Muslim holiday of Eid al Fitr. Disabled people and the elderly will be among the Iraqis leaving in what, according to the Iraqi ambassador, will be the first official return by air to the homeland since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Parliament demands financial help for IDPs, refugees

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:22:27 CST

A parliamentary committee on displacement and migration demanded the Iraqi government allot US$4 billion in next year's budget to meet the needs of more than four million internally displaced persons and refugees.

Voter Apathy Among Iraq Displaced

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:10:20 CST

Internal refugees in Iraq are showing little interest in taking part in the country's delayed provincial elections despite extensive campaigns to increase voter registration. Iraq's electoral commission has registered 72,000 displaced voters, just 2.6 per cent of the total figure for those uprooted by the conflict. Internally displaced persons, IDPs, are required to register on a special list in order to vote in the upcoming provincial council elections. They will be able to vote in ballots either in places where they now live or came from. Iraqis living outside the country will not be allowed to take part in the poll.

From exile to peril at home: Returned Refugees and Iraq’s Displacement Crisis

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:41:09 CST

In the last months of 2007, tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees left Syria to return to their country. Whether they returned in Iraqi government-sponsored bus convoys or on individual journeys, some in Baghdad and Washington touted their move as a sign of success in bringing order to Baghdad and a vote of confidence by the returnees in Iraq’s safety and stability. Elsewhere, governments like Jordan and Sweden that had provided sanctuary to Iraqi refugees may have seen in the returns a signal that the time had come to begin compelling Iraqis to return, rather than providing them with asylum and assistance.

Cholera cases reach 172, health ministry says

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:15:45 CST

A cholera outbreak is continuing to spread in central and southern Iraq with 65 new cases registered over the past week, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 172, a health ministry spokesman said on 20 September. Since the outbreak began in late August, five fatalities have been registered so far: a 10-year-old girl and a 61-year-old man in Babil province; a three-year-old boy in Maysan; and an adult and child in Baghdad. The Iraqi Health Ministry and the World Health Organization have blamed the country's rundown water and sanitation infrastructure for the cholera outbreak.

Education under pressure in Iraq

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:40:17 CST

The ongoing conflict in Iraq continues to have a devastating impact on children and schools there. Insecurity and violence have forced teachers to flee, kept students at home and, in some cases, closed schools completely. An education system that was once one of the best in the region is now struggling to provide basic services and keep students safe. Many young people have watched fellow classmates either leave the country or simply stop coming to school.

Confirmed cholera cases in Iraq pass the 100 mark

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:57:16 CST

Since the outbreak in late August, Iraqi health authorities have been accusing each other of not doing enough to curb the spread of the disease. This week, Zuhair al-Khafaji, head of the Environment Department at Babil Health Directorate, said negligence by the service authorities was to blame.

U.S. goals for Iraqi refugees are inadequate

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:05:39 CST

Refugees International expresses disappointment at the State Department's goal of resettling only 17,000 Iraqi refugees for the 2009 fiscal year, which begins October 1. While the United States achieved its target of resettling over 12,000 Iraqi refugees in 2008, the needs are far greater. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that in 2009, 90,000 Iraqi refugees in the region will be in urgent need of resettlement. This number does not include vulnerable Iraqis who remain inside their country, or Palestinian refugees from Iraq, who live in desperate conditions at the Syria-Iraqi border.

Cholera continues to spread in the south

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:02:55 CST

he Iraqi Ministry of Health continues to fight a recent outbreak of cholera as it spreads through Iraq's southern provinces, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 68, a health ministry spokesman said.

UN supports Iraq's cholera control efforts

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 08:14:55 CST

The World Health Organization met Iraq's Ministry of Health in Baghdad yesterday to offer the UN's increased support to Iraq's cholera control activities. This follows the Government's announcement of 21 new confirmed cholera cases in Babil governorate, with another 90 – 95 suspected cases under investigation.