Children in Iraq have spent their whole childhood under the threat of violence. It can be hard for us to get our minds around this: that Iraqi children have never experienced a time of peace and safety. For two decades now—their entire lives—these children have known only hardship. Sanctions, political insecurity, wars, and the exodus of professionals have had a devastating impact in Iraq and its children.
Basics like water, sanitation and medical care have become scarce. According to a UNICEF Humanitarian Update that was just published, only 40 percent of all children have access to clean water, and less than half are immunized. This year, Iraq experienced a measles outbreak. In response, UNICEF vaccinated over 240,000 children against measles, mumps and rubella.
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| © UNICEF/ HQ03-0108/Nasih Othman |
| Over 2 million children are refugees in Iraq, like this boy in an IDP camp, housed in a former primary school. |
Refugees are a huge issue for Iraq. The number of refugees is truly staggering. Over 4 million people have been displaced and are now living in refugee camps—either in neighboring countries or in Iraq. Half of all refugees—2 million—are children.
Education has been especially hard hit by the continuing violence in Iraq, since often schools are either closed or have been destroyed. As the school year comes to an end this week in Iraq, many seniors won't graduate because they were unable to take their exams. School enrollment in general has fallen below 60 percent, down from 83 percent in 2005.
Because of the danger in Iraq, accessing children in need can be difficult. Those children that aids organizations can't reach often get sick, go hungry or remain burdened by trauma. What's worse, the recruitment of child soldiers to fight in militias or plant explosive devices is on the rise.
As grim as this picture is, these children thankfully haven't been forgotten. UNICEF and other aid organizations are doing what they can to help these children: delivering water and medical supplies, reintegrating street children, counseling and protecting kids, and rebuilding schools. Because of the difficulty of working on the ground during a war, UNICEF is launching a brand-new aid program in July, called IMPACT: Iraq. This initiative places humanitarian aid teams all across the country, who will then fan out to deliver health care kits, safe water, sanitation and education to 360,000 children and their families. UNICEF, which has been present in Iraq since 1983, will also keep monitoring the situation for children in Iraq to make sure help goes where it's needed most. We hope that this will be the last generation in Iraq that grows up knowing only conflict and violence.