Fieldnotes: Blogging on UNICEF's child survival work in the field

In the wake of World Water Day last month, the water crisis has come into stark relief in war-riven Iraq.

A handful of news organizations, including Agence France Presse and Integrated Regional Information Networks, carried stories highlighting last week’s intense fighting and the warnings of UNICEF and other aid groups that the clashes were impeding humanitarian relief efforts.

UNICEF focused on the lack of access to safe drinking water as an especially serious problem, noting that it could cause a rise in the incidence of diarrhea (which can be deadly, particularly for young children). UNICEF’s bold efforts to address water scarcity amidst the chaos and violence garnered some brief mentions in news stories.

In the city of Basra, a local UNICEF team partnered with a contractor to deliver water via tanker trucks to families that could not previously be reached because of a curfew. Within two days, more than 2,000 families in Basra were receiving clean water.

Background note: The fighting in Basra has subsided, but the struggle to find safe water in Iraq continues. Iraq’s water and sanitation network has deteriorated after years of conflict and underinvestment. As a result, only 40 per cent of the country’s children have regular access to safe drinking water. Less than 10 percent of urban households outside Baghdad are hooked up to sanitary sewage systems. Due to scarce electricity, sewage pumping stations and treatment plants often release wastewater into Iraq’s rivers, contaminating the water supply.

UNICEF has been providing drinking clean water to civilians in Iraq for over four years, but an enormous demand for this life necessity is continually fed by ongoing violence. In February, UNICEF issued a funding appeal for $37 million to help deliver healthcare, clean drinking water, sanitation and other critical services to endangered children and families.

Were you aware of the water crisis in Iraq? What other humanitarian issues do you feel should be getting more coverage in Iraq? Have you followed UNICEF’s work there?

Let me know.