Food rationing system failing as Ramadan approaches

IRAQ:
09 Sep 2007 14:15:06 GMT
Source: IRIN

More BAGHDAD, 9 September 2007 (IRIN) - The monthly food rationing system on which millions of Iraqis depend is not working properly, according to officials. They warn that delays in food deliveries will have a serious impact on those fasting during the upcoming holy Islamic month of Ramadan (beginning around 13 September), when Muslims go without food and drink from dawn to sunset.

"There are many reasons why the monthly food ration system is not working very well," Muhammad Ala'a Jabber, director of the west Baghdad office for delivering food rations, said. "There is a shortage of food products, the available products are of bad quality and sometimes are expired and there is a delay in delivery to the distribution offices."

According to Jabber, Iraq's food rationing system has continued to worsen since an escalation of sectarian violence began in February 2006. But in the past four months, he said, the problem has reached critical levels.

"It is rare to find items such as baby formula among rationed food. This never happened under Saddam Hussein's regime when it was common to see an abundance of baby formula," Jabber said.

"The rice which is available is of bad quality and the beans might require hours to cook. The quantity of flour and tea given to each family has decreased and at least 20 percent of families in search of food rations return home empty handed," he added.

Food trucks looted

The Ministry of Trade, which is responsible for the delivery of food rations, said insecurity has been the main reason for the shortages in food ration items.

"Many trucks are looted on their way to Baghdad and other cities. Sometimes there is a delay in delivering products from outside the country but we are working hard to keep the programme functioning properly," Abdel-Aziz Haydar, a media officer at the trade ministry, said.

The monthly food rationing system was introduced by the late former President Saddam Hussein to offset the impact of sweeping trade sanctions imposed on Iraq by the UN after the 1991 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Food products were paid for by Iraqi oil which was exchanged under UN administration.

The food system, which is credited with saving millions of Iraqis from starvation, worked until 2003 when Saddam was ousted by US-led forces. Under Saddam, food rations were nearly double the quantity of today's and consisted of good quality food, recipients and specialists say.

Rations smaller and worse

"All items remaining in the ration have been reduced in quantity by nearly 35 percent," Professor Muhammad Ezidin, an analyst at Baghdad University, said. "The programme has seriously deteriorated and with the increase in the number of displaced families, each day they face more difficulties to get their food ration, bringing starvation closer to Iraqi families."

Sinan Youssef, a senior official in the strategy department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, said that about five million Iraqis depend on the monthly food ration programme but only 60 percent of this number is able to avail of it, leaving two million people in dire poverty.

"These people are mostly displaced families or those who are living in tense zones where the distribution programme is hard to implement," Youssef added.

According to the last report by Oxfam and a coalition of Iraqi groups, including the NGO Coordination Committee of Iraq (NCCI), up to eight million Iraqis require immediate emergency aid, with nearly half this number living in "absolute poverty".

Inflation boosting poverty

"Unemployment has topped a staggering 68 percent and inflation has pushed up prices by 70 percent since February 2006," Youssef said. "Most of these families have a daily income of under US$1.8 per day but at least two million Iraqis have an income of less than one dollar per day."

Ezidin gave examples of how prices have risen. "A year ago we were able to buy a can of powdered milk for children for less than US$0.3 but today - if you find powdered milk in the market - you have to pay at least US$4. This is an absurdity which the government is ignoring, leaving shopkeepers to put up their own prices without any control," Ezidin said. "Ramadan is about to start and thousands of people will fast and will have no food to break their fast with."

Abu Akram, 32, a father of four in Baghdad, does not know how he will cope. "I've had a delay in my food ration for more than two months. My children are sick, suffering from malnutrition and I'm unemployed. I don't know where to go to get money to feed them."

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IRAQ: Growing unemployment threatens stability, UN says

18 Feb 2009 14:40:03 GMT
Source: IRIN

BAGHDAD, 18 February 2009 (IRIN) - Iraq's double-digit unemployment rate, especially among young men, could undermine long-term security and social stability, a UN report states.

Iraq's unemployment rate stands at 18 percent while an additional 10 percent of the labour force is part-time, but keen to work longer hours, the report found.

Unemployment is concentrated among young men, with 28 percent between 15 and 29 years of age unemployed, while only 17 percent of women have jobs, a low rate compared with neighbouring countries.

"Iraq's growing jobless population is a socio-economic challenge for a country in transition. This unemployed or disenchanted pool of young men and women is critical to Iraq's future socio-economic health," it said.

"Data shows that women without a university education are more likely to be unemployed or not seeking a job. Only 30 percent of working-age women with a secondary education participate in the labour force and this figure drops to 10 percent for those with just a primary education."

It also warned that most of the 450,000 Iraqis entering the job market in 2009 would not find work as the private sector was "ill-equipped".

The report, Iraq Labor Force Analysis, issued on 15 February, was compiled by the UN's Information Analysis Unit and 11 NGOs. It is the first such report since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime.

Joblessness fuels insurgency

Experts say joblessness has plagued Iraq since 2003 and helped to fuel the insurgency, since idle young men can be lured into the ranks of militant groups. The same instability is hampering rebuilding efforts and economic growth that could generate more jobs, they say.

Three years after earning his electrical engineering degree, 28-year-old Qassim Khalil said his years of study were "a big mistake" and that he should have dropped out long ago to get a menial job.

"I was dreaming about becoming either a government employee or working in the private sector, but these were only dreams," he said.

"I kept knocking on all the doors for work but in vain. To get a government job one should be backed by politicians and their parties while the private sector wants someone with at least five years of experience," Khalil added.

Aqeel al-Kinani, a Baghdad-based economic specialist, blamed the post-war governments for not compiling a nationwide employment strategy as they were focusing only on security issues.

"They forgot that unemployment was the main reason behind the deteriorating security situation they were trying to fix," Al-Kinani, who prepares economic studies for governmental and non-governmental bodies, told IRIN.

"There should have been a nationwide strategy for that sensitive period after the 2003 invasion but there was an absence of such a strategy as all the post-war governments were preoccupied with fighting insurgents despite some humble initiatives here and there with almost no effective results."