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Iraq Still Lacks Clean Water, Health Care

Medical system worse than ever at 5-year mark, says Red Cross

By Laurel Jorgensen,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 17, 2008 11:23 AM CDT

(Newser) – Five years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, its health care system is “now in worse shape than ever,” and millions of Iraqis still don’t have clean water and medical care, Reuters reports. “The humanitarian situation in most of the country remains among the most critical in the world,” the Red Cross said in a new report.

Some Iraqi families spend at least a third of their monthly income on clean drinking water, and hospitals don’t have enough beds, drugs, or staff. “Better security in some parts of Iraq must not distract attention from the continuing plight of millions,” says the Red Cross’ head of Middle Eastern and African operations.

Iraq women collect water from a canal in Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday, March 5, 2008. Despite having two rivers, Iraq suffers from severe water shortages.
Iraq women collect water from a canal in Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday, March 5, 2008. Despite having two rivers, Iraq suffers from severe water shortages.   (AP Photo)
A nurse tends to Mohammed Mehdi in a central Baghdad hospital on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008, after he was injured in a car bomb attack.
A nurse tends to Mohammed Mehdi in a central Baghdad hospital on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008, after he was injured in a car bomb attack.   (AP)
Jabar Katy, right, who lost his leg in an explosion in Baghdad, is fitted for a new prosthetic leg at a clinic for amputees in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, July 29, 2007.
Jabar Katy, right, who lost his leg in an explosion in Baghdad, is fitted for a new prosthetic leg at a clinic for amputees in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, July 29, 2007.   (AP )
Iraqi children raise their hands as they attend a lesson at an elementary school in Al-Shmya, 195 kilometers (120 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, March 13, 2007. Hundreds of children in Iraq are attending schools that lack even basic water or sanitation facilities, have crumbling walls, broken windows...
Iraqi children raise their hands as they attend a lesson at an elementary school in Al-Shmya, 195 kilometers (120 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, March 13, 2007. Hundreds of children in Iraq...   (AP Photo)
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