Iraqi Children Pay Heavy Price of War

NEW YORK—The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has painted a dramatic picture of the situation of children in Iraq and warned that increased assistance is needed to improve their dire situation.

According to UNICEF, an estimated two million children suffer from poor nutrition, disease, and interrupted education. One child dies every five minutes because of the war, and many more are left with severe injuries.

Of the estimated four million Iraqis who have been internally displaced or who have left the country, one and a half million are children. For the most part, those remaining don't have access to basic health care, education, shelter, potable water, and sanitation.

Sick or injured children, who could otherwise be treated by simple means, are left to die in the hundreds because they don't have access to basic medicines or other resources.

Children who have lost hands, feet, or other limbs are left without prostheses. Children with grave psychological distress are left untreated. This is the assessment of 100 British and Iraqi physicians.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19062.htm

:cry:

And all this time I thought the fact that 19% of the Iraqi population are orphans was the scary statistic.