Dec 15 2012

More than 5 million Iraqi children lack basic rights

By Laith Jawad

Azzaman, December 15, 2012

At least 32 per cent of children in Iraq live in conditions which lack basic rights and services, a new survey has revealed.

The survey, conducted by U.N.’s children organization (UNICEF) and the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, is the first detailed study of the conditions of Iraqi children nearly a decade after the 2003-U.S. invasion which toppled the government of the executed leader Saddam Hussein.

The Planning Ministry says the study will help it plan for the future, but critics say it shows that the country at large still lacks basic services and utilities.

Planning Minister Ali Yousif al-Shukri accepted the study’s findings and told the newspaper that translated into numbers 32 per cent means more than 5.3 million vulnerable children in Iraq who suffer from shortages of basic amenities and rights.

“The survey offers a comprehensive data on children as well as women. It will help us concentrate on the urgent areas as we draw development plans for the future,” Shukri said.

He said it was essential that future investments addressed issues related to the well-being of Iraqi children.

The survey, he added, relays sad news as it says that more than one third of Iraqi children were not faring well.

Ages up to 18-years old form almost half of the Iraqi population of nearly 33 million people.

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