Restoring Water and Sanitation Services in Iraq

UNICEF Reopens Office in Baghdad Six Years After Conflict Began

Jul 14, 2009

About six million Iraqis - one out of five - do not have access to safe drinking water. Water-borne disease poses great health risks especially for children under five.

Inadequate water and sewage services plague many Iraqis after six years of war and decades of sanctions. Many people in rural communities walk to contaminated rivers and streams to fetch water, putting themselves at high risk for water-borne diseases. Acute watery diarrhea is the second largest killer of children in the country. Cholera outbreaks hit Iraq in 2007 and 2008.

Last January a water treatment plant opened in Baghdad's Sadr City, where people suffer from extreme water shortages. Construction began in 2005, but progress was slow. Since the invasion in 2003 the United States has appropriated nearly $50.8 billion for reconstruction projects in Iraq, but much of the money was spent on security rather than construction.

"This is the real answer to terrorism," the Baghdad mayor, Saber al-Essawy, said at an opening ceremony at the Sadr City plant, where a U.S. Army brass band in heavy body armor, helmets and protective goggles played festive marches (Reuters).

UNICEF and European Community Fund $10 Million Safe Water Project

In June 2009 the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced the reopening of its office in Baghdad six years after leaving because of the war. The announcement coincides with the pullback of U.S. forces in Iraq to bases outside cities and towns. "This marks the beginning of the UNICEF Iraq country office's full transition back to Iraq over the next year," the agency said.

One of UNICEF's first projects is a $10 million Safe Water and Sanitation Project funded by the European Community. It will assist local authorities in managing and developing Iraq's water and sanitation sector.

“This investment will provide over 100,000 people including children from 30 schools in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Muthanna, Thi-Qar, Missan, and Basra with improved access to water and sanitation facilities” stated Sikander Khan, UNICEF Iraq Representative.

Hundreds of government staff will receive training on best global water and sanitation practices, surveys will identify the most critical areas in need of investment, and water and sanitation development plans will be implemented in two areas of the country, with the hope of replication in others. Quality water for all Iraqis will contribute to the millennium development goal of reducing by half the number of people without access to safe water by 2015.

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