Climate of insecurity
Iraq has endured a series of crises over the past 27 years and there is still no end in sight. The Iran-Iraq war and the 1991 Gulf war were followed by 13 years of acute poverty under UN sanctions.
The devastating effects of the 2003 war continue. An estimated 100 people die each day in Iraq according to the UN, with thousands more forced out of their homes. The unrelenting violence, power cuts, water shortages and rising fuel prices, make daily life a challenge for ordinary Iraqis.
Displacement
Over 1.6 million people are displaced within Iraq. Another 2 million are living as refugees abroad, mainly in Syria and Jordan. Although many of these people fled their homes in the 1980s, numbers have soared dramatically in the aftermath of the 2003 war.
Displaced families struggle to find safety from the chronic insecurity on the streets. Many are forced to live in abandoned public buildings or construct their own makeshift shelters. Temporary shelters often lack access to water, proper sanitation facilities or electricity.
Disease
Water and sanitation systems, already damaged by war and neglect, have deteriorated further. Contaminated water spreads diseases such as typhoid, cholera and dysentery. The resulting diarrhoea can be fatal, especially for children.
Hospitals are struggling to cope with the demand for basic health services and desperately need rehabilitating. Most hospitals and medical supply warehouses have been looted. Even when medicine is available, it is still extremely difficult to distribute.