IOM has today delivered food assistance to hospitals in
Baghdad’s Sadr City and in the southern governorates of Basra
and Qadissiya. It is the first food aid to reach hospitals in Sadr
City since the ending of the recent violence.

Three hundred food parcels were sent to the Imam Ali Hospital in
Sadr City after long negotiations to access the area.

Most curfews and restrictions following an end to violence at
the weekend between Iraqi government forces and Mehdi Army
Militiamen have been lifted, but restrictions on vehicle movements
and some continued curfews have meant that access to some
vulnerable populations caught out in the fighting has not been
possible until now.

In Basra, 500 food parcels were delivered this morning to the
Basra Educational Hospital for redistribution to Basra’s six
hospitals according to needs. At the request of the Iraqi Ministry
of Health, another 250 food baskets will be delivered tomorrow.

The hospital in Diwaniya in Qadissiya governorate also received
250 food parcels from IOM this morning while hospitals in Nassiriya
in Thi Qar and Kut in Wassit governorates will receive food parcels
tomorrow.  A total of 1,800 food parcels will have been
delivered by IOM over the two days.

All food assistance is for hospital patients, families taking
care of them as well as staff, with each parcel containing
vegetable oil, chick peas, beans, tomato paste and rice, items most
often requested by Iraqis.

The violence in Baghdad and southern Iraq, which claimed around
680 lives and injured another 1,500 people, in addition to the
imposition of curfews, meant food, fuel, water and medical supplies
to large parts of Iraq were badly hit. IOM staff report a major
lack of food and fuel supplies in these violence-affected areas
with prices having risen anywhere between 50-600 per cent.

For further information, please contact:

Livia Styp-Rekowska

Tel: +962-79-711-0261

E-mail: "mailto:Lstyp-rekowska@iom-iraq.net">Lstyp-rekowska@iom-iraq.net

or

Jemini Pandya

IOM Geneva

Tel: + 41 79 217 3374

E-mail: "mailto:jpandya@iom.int">jpandya@iom.int 

or

Jean Philippe Chauzy

Tel: + 41 79 285 4366