Page updated on 03/02/2009

Abundant natural and human resources enabled Iraq to attain the status of a middle-income country in the 1970s. The country developed good infrastructure and a well-performing education and healthcare system, widely regarded as the best in the Middle East.

Iraq has undergone two wars and was besieged by 12 years of inconceivable sanctions, which has left the country with a deteriorating healthcare & education infrastructure and high levels of unemployment. There is also a major refugee crisis as the sectarian violence continues and thousands of Iraqi civilians are forced to flee their homes. The current need is for shelter, food, water and medical supplies.

Oxfam and over 100 NGOs have reported that:

• 43% of Iraqis are in absolute poverty.
• 28% of Iraqi children are malnourished.
• 32% of internally displaced persons who need food rations cannot get them.
• 70% of Iraqis do not have adequate water supplies.
• 80% do not have effective sanitation.
• 11% of new born babies are underweight.
• 4 million Iraqis are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

Following the recent war, Iraq faces enormous challenges in rebuilding its infrastructure.

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