CARE International's staff in Iraq continue
to deliver clean water to communities outside of Baghdad where supplies
have been cut due to electricity disruption.
CARE has positioned 62 collapsible water
tanks to help meet the desperate need for clean water many communities
have faced over the last three weeks. CARE has also pre-positioned and
distributed large quantities of hygienic supplies and lactose-free milk
for malnourished children.
'The water situation is increasingly critical in Baghdad and surrounding areas,' CARE UK chief executive Will Day said. 'Coping with very difficult circumstances, our staff have worked in the past few weeks to return clean water supplies to hospitals in Baghdad and deliver hygienic supplies. We also have an around-the-clock mobile repair workshop carrying out essential repairs to damaged water supplies in hospitals.'
For safety reasons, our staff have temporarily relocated outside Baghdad where they have continued to work, delivering potable water to up to 25,000 people in areas west of the capital. As soon as it is safe, they will return to Baghdad to assist in delivering potable water to hospitals and people in need.
In Jordan, CARE has set up a regional co-ordination unit to support a rapid emergency response as soon as safe access to Iraq can be assured. A second mobile repair workshop, pipes and fittings for hospitals and health care centres and food for emergency feeding of children will be delivered to Iraq in the coming days and weeks.
Furthermore, 4,668 hygiene relief kits donated by the Mennonite Central Committee are waiting to be transported from Jordan to Iraq. Each relief kit serves a family of four and includes items such as soap, toothbrushes, towels and bandages.
CARE International is the only international non-government organisation to have worked continuously in the centre and south of Iraq since 1991 and has witnessed first-hand the effects of sanctions on ordinary families. The people of Iraq were already vulnerable before the current hostilities began and 30 percent of children are chronically malnourished.
'The humanitarian needs will be enormous in Iraq over the coming days, weeks and months. We urgently need your support to continue our vital relief efforts,' Mr Day said.
Donations to CARE International's Iraq emergency appeal can be made by calling 0845 600 5800 or through our website.
Notes to editors
For further information about CARE's programmes in Iraq or for interviews with Will Day, chief executive of CARE International UK, or Raja Jarrah, programme director, contact:
Kate Bulbulian - Press Officer, CARE International UK. Tel: 020 7934 9347, e-mail: bulbulian@ciuk.org
Media hotline in Amman, AlyKhan Rajani : 00962 - 79 503 5696