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Iraq

ICRC activities in Iraq in May 2008

Many Iraqis are continuing to suffer as a result of the outbreak of fighting that has affected parts of the country in recent months. Whereas the inhabitants of Mosul are slowly getting back to normal life after months of armed violence, in other regions the situation remains tense. The lack of an adequate infrastructure to ensure the provision of sufficient clean water and access to medical care continues to have severe consequences for the population.

Hundreds of houses in Sadr City have been destroyed during the fighting, leaving families more vulnerable than ever in a neighbourhood where basic services have ceased to function. The population remains largely dependent on humanitarian assistance for the provision of water and emergency medical care.

Moreover, as a direct result of the drought affecting most of the country, scarce water supplies are already reaching critical levels. Hospitals in the north do not have enough supplies to treat water-borne diseases, such as diarrhoea.

Visiting detainees to assess their conditions

In May the ICRC visited more than 3,000 detainees in Camp Remembrance II, close to Baghdad, which is under the authority of the Multi-National Forces. ICRC delegates met more than 300 detainees individually in order to assess the conditions of their detention and their treatment. Findings and recommendations were shared with the detaining authorities. In northern Iraq, the ICRC visited 10 detention facilities under the authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government. It also provided assistance for seven physically disabled detainees in Fort Suse federal prison.

Exchanging Red Cross messages enables families to keep in touch with relatives in detention. The ICRC helped to transfer more than 15,500 messages between detainees and their relatives.

The ICRC also facilitated the repatriation of a Pakistani national who was released from Camp Remembrance II on 14 May. Since the beginning of the year, 14 foreign detainees have been voluntarily repatriated to their country of origin under the auspices of the ICRC and in cooperation with the embassies concerned.

Clean water for some 100,000 people

As a consequence of the drought that has affected most of the country, rivers have fallen to alarmingly low levels. The population is affected by increasing water shortages due to restrictions on water pumping. In May the ICRC rebuilt and extended the intake structure of the Al Sinak Water Treatement Unit in Baghdad (on the left bank) further into the Tigris River, thus improving access to clean water for some 100,000 people.

Since the beginning of 2008 the ICRC has completed eight rehabilitation projects, improving the quality and quantity of water for some 300,000 people throughout Iraq.

Helping hospitals to cope with emergencies

As an emergency response to repeated clashes in Diyala Governorate and Sadr City in Baghdad during May, the ICRC supplied six hospitals with 13 tonnes of medical supplies to help them to cope with the increased influx of casualties.

The ICRC also delivered three tonnes of plasma substitute and infusions to Al Mawanea General Hospital in Basrah to compensate for the acute shortage of blood in the area.

During the same period, four tonnes of medical material were delivered to three hospitals and one primary health-care centre in Kirkuk and Ninawa Governorates to help these structures to maintain their medical service.

In Sulemaniyah Governorate, hospitals did not have the items needed to treat severe diarrhoea caused by the current drought affecting the area. Through the Directorate of Health, the ICRC supplied the Al Joumhori Teaching Hospital and the Paediatric Hospital in Sulemaniyah with fluids, oral rehydratation salts and injectable materials.

Food and other essential items for vulnerable families

In May the ICRC provided 1,500 vulnerable families in Diyala, Baghdad, Anbar, Erbil and Najaf governorates with food and other essential relief items.

In order to better cover the needs of the population living in the south of the country, the ICRC set up a new warehouse in Basra to complement the existing structures in Erbil and Baghdad. With a total surface of 2,000 m=B2, it provides storage space for 1,000 family parcels (consisting of food and other essentials).

Orthopaedic training to improve patient care

In May the ICRC provided technical training for three recently graduated orthopaedic technicians working at the new Falluja limb-fitting centre. The aim of the course, which took place at the ICRC's physical rehabilitation centre in Erbil, was to enhance the staff's technical skills and to prepare them to provide a better service for patients.

The Physical Rehabilitation Centre built by the ICRC in Falluja, which is located inside the newly constructed Falluja General Hospital compound, will be ready to receive its first patients in June. The ICRC will provide the Centre with a generator, a water tank and all the necessary prosthetic-orthotic equipment, including the raw material for the production and fitting of prostheses and orthoses of reliable quality.