Poor sanitation and high levels of insecurity pose serious health risks to people in Baghdad, say health workers.

Dr Muhammad Khalid, paediatrician at the Children’s Teaching Hospital in Baghdad, said that a 30 percent increase in waterborne diseases, especially cholera, had affected at least one child a day since last December. “Urgent improvement to sanitation facilities and regular rubbish collection are desperately needed.”

Omar Rubaie, from the Ministry of Municipality and Works, said, “We’re trying to repair the system with a very small budget, which isn’t enough to cover the Baghdad suburbs, where the situation is desperate. Most funds are spent on security issues rather than on sanitation. Many projects have been stopped for security reasons, which has only aggravated the sewage problem.”

Dr Abdul Jalil, director of the Infectious Diseases Control Centre, said, “A cholera outbreak could happen anytime.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with the health ministry to distribute water-purification tablets and launch prevention drives in the capital.

Related news: Iraq: 60 per cent water projects not carried out, Source Weekly, 16 Feb 2006 ; Iraq: water projects stalled by increasing security costs, Source Weekly, 21 Oct 2005

Source: IRIN, 29 Jun 2006

Tags: on-site sanitation, water-related diseases