Source: Iraqi Government
Full_Report (pdf* format - 1.5 Mbytes)EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Seven out of every 100 Iraqi individuals are undernourished.
This is equivalent to an estimated 2.1 million Iraqis. In light of the history of conflict in Iraq and the current state of instability, this prevalence is rather low especially when compared to the overall prevalence of food deprivation within the Near East and North Africa region (7 percent in Iraq compared to 8 percent in the region).
The national prevalence, however, is not equally distributed at the sub national level as disparities exist between the Iraqi governorates. Although food insecure households exist in nearly all governorates of Iraq, they are found to be concentrated in Diyala, Babylon Basrah, Salah al Deen, Kerbala and Muthanna governorates where the prevalence of food deprivation ranges from 51 to 17 percent. The highest level of food deprivation is observed in Diyala governorate, where around one half of people were food deprived. The high prevalence of food deprivation in Diyala is attributed to disruptions in food distributions through the Public Distribution System caused by the incidence of violence and military campaigns during the data collection period.
The Public Distribution System (PDS) was established in 1991 to guarantee a provision of a minimum consumption needs to the Iraqi population through distribution of rations comprising of wheat flour, rice, sugar, vegetable oil, pulses, adult milk, infant formula and tea as well as other non food items at a highly subsidized price. The average daily dietary energy consumption in Iraq is 2580 kilocalorie per person, over half of which is acquired through the PDS.
At the level of household characteristics, food deprivation is concentrated within population groups characterized by low income, large households, whose head is over 50 years of age and is illiterate, involved in agricultural activities or unemployed.
Expenditures on food represents slightly more than one third (35 percent) of total household expenditures, of which, 80 percent is dedicated to commercial food purchases and the remaining twenty percent represents the value of the nominal payment required to receive the PDS food rations, the value of food produced and consumed by households and food purchased and consumed away from the home.
Despite having a share of 80 percent of all food expenditures, food purchased from the commercial markets provides only 44 percent of the kilocalorie consumption at the national level. Accordingly, the contribution of dietary energy from the PDS plays a critical role from the food security perspective while the contribution of purchased food plays an important role from the expenditure structure perspective and dietary energy acquired from food from own production is negligible. The high reliance of Iraqis within the lower income strata on food rations renders them vulnerable to any irregularities in the distribution system and market fluctuations.
The market price of 1000 kilocalories in Iraq is valued at 610 Iraqi Dinars on average. Accordingly, daily per capita expenditure on food is valued at 1590 Iraqi Dinars. When accounting for actual expenditures, subsidized prices of food provided through the PDS renders the cost of 1000 kilocalories to be 520 Iraqi Dinars on average, bringing daily per capita out of pocket expenditure on food down to 1360 Iraqi Dinars.
Lancet have indicated what the Iraqi Government cannot say, namely that the Iraqi population were better fed and had better health and medical services under Saddam. The education services were also, pre-occupation, of a high standard according to Unicef and The World Health Organisation. The old chestnut that the occupation was 'better than Saddam' has unravelled in a few short years.The survey omits, needless to say, the countless Iraqis dead and displaced by the invasion and debacle which has followed it.
At the level of household characteristics, food deprivation is concentrated within population groups characterized by low income, large households, whose head is over 50 years of age and is illiterate, involved in agricultural activities or unemployed.
Expenditures on food represents slightly more than one third (35 percent) of total household expenditures, of which, 80 percent is dedicated to commercial food purchases and the remaining twenty percent represents the value of the nominal payment required to receive the PDS food rations, the value of food produced and consumed by households and food purchased and consumed away from the home.
Despite having a share of 80 percent of all food expenditures, food purchased from the commercial markets provides only 44 percent of the kilocalorie consumption at the national level. Accordingly, the contribution of dietary energy from the PDS plays a critical role from the food security perspective while the contribution of purchased food plays an important role from the expenditure structure perspective and dietary energy acquired from food from own production is negligible. The high reliance of Iraqis within the lower income strata on food rations renders them vulnerable to any irregularities in the distribution system and market fluctuations.
The market price of 1000 kilocalories in Iraq is valued at 610 Iraqi Dinars on average. Accordingly, daily per capita expenditure on food is valued at 1590 Iraqi Dinars. When accounting for actual expenditures, subsidized prices of food provided through the PDS renders the cost of 1000 kilocalories to be 520 Iraqi Dinars on average, bringing daily per capita out of pocket expenditure on food down to 1360 Iraqi Dinars.
Lancet have indicated what the Iraqi Government cannot say, namely that the Iraqi population were better fed and had better health and medical services under Saddam. The education services were also, pre-occupation, of a high standard according to Unicef and The World Health Organisation. The old chestnut that the occupation was 'better than Saddam' has unravelled in a few short years.The survey omits, needless to say, the countless Iraqis dead and displaced by the invasion and debacle which has followed it.
I believe it was Armitage that threatened Pakistan with sending them back to the stone age if they did not play ball.
ReplyDeleteWell it seems they tried it on Iraq first.
It goes back to what I always say.
--If they can not understand it they try to control it.
If they can not control it, they destroy it.
Ubi solitudinem faciant, pacem vocant. Tacitus placed the words in the mouth of Calgacus, Scottish patriot and 'insurgent'. True then, true now as you say, Rz.
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