Rising to the humanitarian challenge in Iraq

The violence in Iraq is overshadowing a humanitarian crisis, with eight million Iraqis--nearly one in three--in need of emergency aid, says a report released by international agency Oxfam and NCCI, a network of aid organisations working in Iraq . According to the report: "Four million Iraqis--15%--regularly cannot buy enough to eat. 70% are without adequate water supplies, compared to 50% in 2003. 28% of children are malnourished, compared to 19% before the 2003 invasion. 92% of Iraqi children suffer learning problems, mostly due to the climate of fear. More than two million people--mostly women and children--have been displaced inside Iraq . A further two million Iraqis have become refugees, mainly in Syria and Jordan."