Iraq

Background

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This map does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers.

Iraq has never been a more difficult and dangerous place to be a child. The key elements of a secure, happy childhood – school, health care, play and a stable family environment – are being pushed out of reach by a deadly sectarian conflict. Insecurity is eroding social services, draining the country of skilled doctors and teachers, and fracturing once peaceful communities. Ever more Iraqis are fleeing their homes to reach safety in other parts of the country or abroad. This tidal wave of violence and displacement has generated a major humanitarian emergency, in which children’s health, their rights and even their lives are at serious risk.

Issues facing children in Iraq

• Almost 700,000 Iraqi people were displaced inside the country in 2006, in response to an escalation in sectarian violence. The large population movements have unbalanced social services and left many communities struggling to cope with the influx of new people.
• Health services such as immunization are in serious decline, with over 1 million Iraqi children under five years of age (approximately one fifth of that age group) missing their routine vaccinations against common childhood diseases.
• One in five Iraqi children shows signs of stunted growth, indicating long-term nutritional problems. Diarrhoea rates are also rising because of safe-water shortages.
• Education rates are falling, with an estimated 800,000 children or more out of school even before 2006. Widespread school closures have been reported in Baghdad, and many schools have been caught up in violent attacks. Girls’ education is suffering particularly.
• Pregnant women are being increasingly denied access to ante-natal services and potentially lifesaving emergency obstetric care. 
• Children are orphaned by violence almost daily, and the number of female-headed households is rising as more families lose their primary wage earner in the conflict. 
• Stresses on children witnessing violence or living in fear of violence are increasing their risk of psychosocial problems, with abuse and exploitation ever-growing risks. Street children and substance abuse are increasingly visible phenomena in Iraq’s central cities.

Working with the Iraqi Red Crescent Society, UNICEF ensured that over 550,000 Iraqi children and women caught in emergencies had access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene during 2005 and 2006.

• More than 4.4 million children under five were immunized multiple times against polio and 3.9 million against measles during UNICEF-supported immunization campaigns, keeping Iraq polio-free and preventing measles outbreaks.
• Basic school materials for 4.7 million children have been distributed to primary schools nationwide.
• An Accelerated Learning Programme has given over 30,000 children outside the education system the opportunity to pass their primary school exams.
• Water-tankering operations provided safe drinking water to 70,000 to 120,000 Baghdad residents per day, including water for schools and hospitals.
• Over 150 street children have been reintegrated with their families and communities in a Baghdad-based Child Reintegration Project. Many more are receiving critical psychosocial care.
• The Government of Iraq has launched a programme to fortify wheat flour with iron and folic acid, essential to combat anaemia amongst pregnant women.