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WFP hopes Iraq war lasts no more than 6 weeks
Islamic Republic News Agency, March 31, 2003
The World Food Programme (WFP) Monday expressed concern that food in Iraq would run out if the US-led war lasted more than five or six weeks.
Executive Director of the UN agency James Morris told a press conference in London that he hoped the conflict would soon be resolved so that humanitarian aid could be provided, particularly to the elderly and children, the most vulnerable Iraqis.
During the fighting, the protagonists had the responsibility to supply humanitarian assistance, he stressed. He calculated that before the start of the US-led invasion on March 20, the supply of food in Iraq was sufficient to feed the population for 5-6 weeks. Morris said that WFP had position 200 vehicles to take humanitarian aid into Iraq, but that the UN agency could not put staff into the country until the military conflict subsided.
Dlrs 2.2 billion worth of aid was required for Iraq's food programme, he said, adding that a mammoth operation lay ahead. As part of the UN humanitarian appeal, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday said that at least Dlrs 325 million was needed for better healthcare for the situation in Iraq that was deteriorating day-by-day.
"Overall, the health of people in Iraq is poor and likely to get worse," the Director General of WHO, Gro Harlem Brundtland, said in a statement released in Geneva.
HC/AH/AR
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