(USAID Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance Fact Sheet #45) (1960) Following is the text of a June 2 update on the current humanitarian situation in Iraq, published by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The full text is available in *.pdf format at http://www.usaid.gov/iraq/updates/jun03/iraq_fs45_060203.pdf. (begin fact sheet) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Iraq - Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance Fact Sheet #45 June 2, 2003 Current Humanitarian Situation (updated biweekly) Regional Updates Baghdad and Central Iraq -- According to the Coalition Joint Task Force (CJTF), the Khadimiya (Central Sector) Garbage Department Fleet is coordinating garbage collection requirements for central Baghdad. As of June 7, a garbage truck curfew will be imposed from 1600 to 0600 hours every day to allow normal garbage collection to proceed from 0700 to 1500 hours daily with sufficient time for drivers to arrive and depart from work. Drivers are authorized to take garbage trucks to their residences in order to secure the vehicle, as long as they abide by the curfew. -- Of the 36 communications facilities in Baghdad, 16 are damaged and 11 of those are critical to establishing ground communications. USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI) is funding repairs to four of these facilities, including a studio and radio tower. Southern Iraq -- On May 29, members of the USG Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) assessed the Al Basrah Public Health Laboratory, which is one of two major laboratories in Iraq, the other being in Baghdad. The facility served the entire southern Iraq region, and performed complex laboratory testing on blood, urine, stool, tissue, and cultured pathogens from sputum, stool, and blood. The site also included a dispensary and a clinic distributing public health information. The laboratory was systematically looted and is no longer operational. There is no mechanism in Al Basrah to test for cholera, HIV, hepatitis, or other standard tests. With poor water quality in Al Basrah, there remains concern for a summer cholera or hepatitis outbreak, and obtaining test results from Kuwaiti laboratories slows the response time. -- According to the Kuwait Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC), implementation of Kuwaiti-donated reverse osmosis desalinization units may be possible utilizing feed water from well water sources or surface water sources with additional pre-treatment. At a meeting on May 31, UNICEF agreed to fund well drilling associated with this implementation and to provide sand filtration compact units for the pre-treatment of potential surface feed water sources with elevated levels of turbidity. Umm Qasr -- The M/V Thor Sky arrived in Umm Qasr Port during the evening of May 30, loaded with 14,000 metric tons (MT) of bagged rice. In the first 48 hours, 7,918 MT of the bagged rice was offloaded onto trucks. A private trucking company from An Nasiriyah is distributing the rice to Wasit, Al Muthanna, Maysan, Karbala, and An Najaf Governorates. -- The M/V Sea Express, carrying 9,527 MT of bulk wheat arrived in Umm Qasr on May 31. Port workers using two mobile vacuvators have discharged a total of 4,378 MT of the bulk wheat into trucks. -- The M/V Nanking is due to arrive in Umm Qasr on June 2 with 10,000 MT of wheat flour, and the M/V Orbit will berth either on June 2 or June 3 with 15,000 MT of wheat flour. The M/V Thor Sky, M/V Nanking, and M/V Orbit are each carrying commodities purchased with funding from USAID given to the World Food Program (WFP). -- USAID/OTI formally handed over three projects in Umm Qasr to the transitional Town Council on May 29. The three USAID/OTI grants, selected based on a list of priorities developed by community residents, were for a new town council building, a new community communication center, and youth sports facilities and equipment. These projects mark the first time there has been public access to the Internet in Umm Qasr, and the first time in decades that there have been administrative offices for a locally selected government. Through UDAID/OTI funding, the Town Council has provided a new pre-fabricated administration building. The community communication center project has supplied new computers with broadband Internet access and technical assistance, and the youth sports project includes a new cement basketball/volleyball court, restoration of a soccer field, and balls and nets for soccer, volleyball, and basketball. Sector Updates Abuse Prevention -- On May 30, the Office of the Coalition Provisional Authority (OCPA) made public a comprehensive policy on dealing with mass graves that had been developed with the input of the DART's Abuse Prevention Unit, among others. The policy allows, inter alia, for forensics specialists, identification of remains, and work with civil society. Sites will be safeguarded using local resources rather than relying on Coalition forces. Coordination -- The Kuwait HOC continues to reduce in size as it transitions work to the Iraq Assistance Center in July. The Government of Kuwait said the HOC will continue to function. All Coalition military will be reassigned by July 1. Food -- According to WFP, on June 1, the MOT began distributing food brought into Iraq by WFP to assist nearly 27 million Iraqi nationwide. An estimated 44,000 distribution agents are involved in this effort, and so far, WFP has transported approximately 440,000 MT of commodities into Iraq to assist vulnerable populations. -- The MOT in Baghdad asked its food agents in all 18 governorates to begin collecting the June wheat flour and other foodstuff rations from MOT distribution centers on June 1. Due to shortages of milk powder, salt, and weaning cereal, these items will not be provided in June. The pulse ration was lowered from 0.5 kg per beneficiary to 0.25 kg, and the vegetable oil ration from 1.25 kg to 1 kg. An infant's ration is eight cans of infant formula (3.6 kg); detergent (0.5 kg); and one bar of soap. The MOT announced that the overall cost for a single person and single infant ration is 250 Iraqi dinars ($0.25 - $0.33) each. -- The MOT has begun publicizing the ration list for the June distribution. The notice also informs families that have either lost or never had their ration cards of where to apply to receive this month's supply. -- WFP will be printing and distributing new ration cards that are to be used from August to December. Current Reconstruction Situation (updated biweekly) Regional Updates Umm Qasr -- The port is dredged to a depth of 9 meters and work continues with a depth goal of 11.5 meters overall and 13.5 meters alongside the grain pier. Dredging, the removal of unexploded ordnance and sunken vessels continues, along with power repair work on the port's generators. The goal is for a portion of the port to be open by June 15 in order to accommodate bulk shipment vessels. Sector Updates Education -- Iraqi school enrollment is increasing and final examination plans are in review, and targeted for the end of June. Infrastructure -- Over the weekend, electricity generation reached the highest level since the conflict: 3,180 megawatts (MW). This is an increase of 15 percent country-wide from ten days ago. Most of the increased generation targeted Baghdad, which consumed 1200 MW, a 70 percent increase from ten days ago. -- Bechtel, USAID's private sector partner, continues to work with Iraqi and military officials to cope with the looting of power lines and transformers, which remains a concern for security and project operations. U.S. Government Response Emergency Relief -- USAID/Office of Foreign Disaster Assis tance (OFDA) is supporting U.N. and NGO emergency assistance activities through quick-impact projects and internally displaced persons (IDP) support. USAID/OFDA supports projects in the sectors of agriculture, food security, health, logistics, nutrition, shelter, and water and sanitation. -- USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) is providing emergency food commodities through the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust (BEHT) and P.L. 480 Title II emergency food assistance to WFP for distribution to food insecure Iraqis. WFP also received a cash contribution from USAID/FFP for the purchase of commodities in the region. -- USAID/OTI is supporting the implementation of the Iraq Transition Initiative (ITI). The ITI program supports the process of political stabilization and community recovery in post-conflict Iraq by providing small grants designed to build confidence among Iraq's diverse ethnic groups, increase citizen participation in decision-making, and rapidly respond to community needs, while establishing and building trust for long term reconstruction efforts. The ITI program is implemented through Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In addition, USAID/OTI works with the Broadcasting Board of Governors to enhance the capacity of Radio SAWA to broadcast humanitarian and reconstruction reporting. -- The Department of State's Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM) contributed assistance for the pre-positioning and emergency response activities of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Commodities -- On June 1, the DART donated 20 World Health Organization emergency health kits to the 24 health clinics in the Al Rashid district of Baghdad. The contents of the kits will be divided among the clinics based upon individual requirements for essential medical supplies, and will relieve some of the patient caseloads from Baghdad hospitals. Reconstruction -- In addition to the emergency relief assistance provided through the DART by USAID and the Department of State, USAID's Asia and Near East Bureau (USAID/ANE) has provided assistance for reconstruction activities in Iraq in a broad range of sectors. USAID supports reconstruction projects in education, governance, health, infrastructure, and logistics. -- Bechtel signed its first subcontract with an Iraqi company, the Al-Bunnia Trading Company. The scope of work is to design and construct a bridge bypass of about 1.5 km in length for a critical highway in the western part of the country. The Al Mat Bridge is located 300 km west of Baghdad and 180 km from the Jordanian border and is declared unsafe, although traffic is still moving across the damaged bridge. The bypass being constructed is a compacted dirt bypass with a bitumen surface (oil). Work began May 29 and should be completed in 14 days. Rebuilding the damaged bridge will take up to eight months. Background --Since 1991, the Iraqi population has subsisted on the brink of a humanitarian disaster due to the lingering effects of war, sanctions, and drought. Between 1991 and 1996, the U.S. Government provided nearly $794 million in humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons in northern Iraq. --In 1996, the Government of Iraq accepted the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program (OFF), after which humanitarian conditions improved. Revenues from the OFF program provided food, medicine, and other civilian goods to assist vulnerable Iraqis through the Public Distribution System. However, widespread corruption by Iraqi officials limited the effectiveness of the OFF program. -- On March 20, 2003, Coalition forces began military operations in Iraq. On May 1, 2003, 42 days after the conflict began, U.S. President George W. Bush announced that combat operations in Iraq have ended. Although the recent conflict did not result in the large-scale humanitarian crisis and widespread displacement many had envisioned, the conflict and subsequent disorder has exacerbated the Iraqi population's vulnerable circumstances. -- In March 2003, the United States Government deployed a multi-agency Disaster Assistance Response Team to the region to assess and respond to humanitarian needs and to help coordinate the emergency relief effort. In Iraq, the DART has established offices in Al Basrah, Arbil, Baghdad, and Al Hillah. In addition, DART members are located in Kuwait and Cyprus, and are working closely with U.N. agencies, NGOs, and in coordination with U.S. Military Civil Affairs personnel.