Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 20, 1991 TAG: 9103200102
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: AMMAN, JORDAN LENGTH: Medium
"We can really hear the clock ticking," said Richard Reid, Middle East regional director for the United Nations Children's Fund.
Reid said most Iraqis are drawing their water from sewage-infested rivers because sanitation plants were destroyed by bombs.
"The big problem is there is no energy," he said.
He and Dr. Gianni Murzi, UNICEF's representative for Iraq, briefed reporters on efforts to control disease, improve nutrition and provide safe drinking water.
Reid estimated 1,500 Iraqi civilians died in the Gulf War. He did not say how he had arrived at that figure. Reid said Baghdad residents appeared to be in shock, as though unable to comprehend their plight.
"They're like victims of automobile accidents in the hospital," he said. "They can feel the fingers, the phantom limbs are there. They believe they could win in the Olympic games."
In early April, temperatures in Iraq begin to climb, reaching summer highs of 120 degrees. That increases the danger of water-borne illness like cholera or typhoid. So far those diseases haven't surfaced, but diarrhea, which can be fatal for children, has jumped 400 percent, the officials said.
Yet they were optimistic that an epidemic could be averted. With enough work and aid, the health situation could be "back in good shape" by June, Reid said.
"I am upbeat, because we can make a difference," said Murzi, who spent the past month in Baghdad. "We have experience. We have the right people, and we put our hands in the dirt."
Murzi said $2 million worth of chlorine and alum, a salt used to purify water, was en route to Iraq, along with spare parts and generators for water-cleansing plants.
UNICEF has not been allowed to assess health needs in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, in southeast Iraq near the Iranian border. Basra has been wracked by rebellion since the Feb. 28 cease-fire. Thousands are said to have died there and in other cities.
"We would guess the conditions in Basra are worst of all," Reid said. "We can wring our hands, beat our breasts . . . but people are like wolves. They're falling on each other for food."
Baghdad is better off, with staple bread and vegetables available, but staggering inflation has driven meat to $20 per pound and gas to $100 per gallon, officials said.
by CNB