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First Food Assistance Reaches Hospitals in Sadr City and
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Apr 2, 2008 IOM Press Note |
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IOM has today delivered food assistance to hospitals in Baghdad's Sadr City and in the southern governorates of Basra and Qadissiya. It is the first food aid to reach hospitals in Sadr City since the ending of the recent violence. Three hundred (300) food parcels were sent to the Imam Ali Hospital in Sadr City after long negotiations to access the area. Most curfews and restrictions following an end to violence at the weekend between Iraqi government forces and Mehdi Army Militiamen have been lifted, but restrictions on vehicle movements and some continued curfews have meant that access to some vulnerable populations caught out in the fighting has not been possible until now. In Basra, 500 food parcels were delivered this morning to the Basra Educational Hospital for redistribution to Basra's six hospitals according to needs. At the request of the Iraqi Ministry of Health, another 250 food baskets will be delivered tomorrow. The hospital in Diwaniya in Qadissiya governorate also received 250 food parcels from IOM this morning while hospitals in Nassiriya in Thi Qar and Kut in Wassit governorates will receive food parcels tomorrow. A total of 1,800 food parcels will have been delivered by IOM over the two days. All food assistance is for hospital patients, families taking care of them as well as staff with each parcel containing vegetable oil, chick peas, beans, tomato paste and rice, items most often requested by Iraqis. The violence in Baghdad and southern Iraq, which claimed around 680 lives and injured another 1,500 people, in addition to the imposition of curfews, meant food, fuel, water and medical supplies to large parts of Iraq were badly hit. IOM staff report a major lack of food and fuel supplies in these violence-affected areas with prices having risen anywhere between 50-600 per cent. |