wfn.org | All Our Children Campaign Sends More Aid for Iraq's Youngest

["Natl Council of Churches/Church World Service News"]

For Immediate Release

With Medicine, Medical Equipment, Hospital Beds, Books and Fresh Foods,
All Our Children Campaign Continues to Meet Health Needs of Iraq's Youngest

July 14, 2003, NEW YORK CITY - Adequate rest, good nutrition and proper
hygiene are essential complements to professional medical care for getting
and staying healthy.

Accordingly, the All Our Children campaign for Iraqi children's health is
funding not only medicine and medical equipment, but also beds, bedding and
fresh food deliveries for pediatric hospitals and a book project to
sensitize children about hygiene, landmines and other health and safety
issues.

The National Council of Churches U.S.A., the global ecumenical humanitarian
agency Church World Service and other partners founded All Our Children in
December 2002 as an extension of their already long-standing response to
Iraq's humanitarian crisis, three wars in 20 years, a repressive regime and
more than a decade of trade sanctions.

All Our Children set a fund-raising target of $1 million.  Just before and
during the recent U.S.-led war on Iraq, the campaign provided $264,006 in
cash and $183,414 in-kind in medicine, medical equipment, wheelchairs,
blankets, bedding sets, personal hygiene kits, emergency food aid and
cleaning supplies for pediatric hospitals and clinics and a program serving
street children.

This week, All Our Children is forwarding a total of $115,000 more in funds
for three new projects, which will be implemented through local partners:

* Local purchase of 100 beds for the Ibn Al-Aheer and Al Khassa Pediatric
Hospitals in Mosul, where there are not enough beds for the patients.  Two
or three children have to share each bed, resulting in transmission of
infections and delaying of the healing process as children can't get enough
rest.  Beds will be purchased in the local market, where good quality metal
frame beds, mattresses and covers are available.

* A book project to sensitize children about landmines, hygiene and other
safety and health issues.   An Iraqi artist and an Iraqi social worker will
lead children in an interactive process to develop the book and distribute
copies in Iraqi schools, especially in rural areas where few such activities
are taking place.

* Purchase and distribution of fresh foods for 37 hospitals in Baghdad and
Basra - enough for three meals a day for 5,000 people over a 10-day period.
Under the former Iraqi regime, hospitals received food from the government
through the "oil for food" program.  Just before the war, the World Food
Program distributed three months of dry food rations to hospitals to prevent
a food crisis - but fresh food stocks ran out and were not replenished.

To help respond to the shortages and boost nutrition and morale until better
times prevail, non-government organizations began taking turns providing
fresh tomatoes, potatoes, cheese, onion, cabbage, eggs, oranges, milk powder
and mineral water.   "Our aim is to help fill the gap until the normal
administrations are able to handle this activity," said All Our Children's
coordinator, Steve Weaver, reached in Baghdad on his satellite phone.

This is All Our Children's second round of food aid to Iraqi hospitals.  In
April-May 2003, the campaign funded fresh food distributions to 21 hospitals
over a two-week period, with supplementary deliveries of dry food to seven
hospitals and powdered milk to 18 hospitals.

Serious Health, Other Humanitarian Needs Continue in Iraq

The United Nations attributes the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi
children to the 1990s trade sanctions, which left the public health system
short of medicine, medical equipment and other supplies; led to the
breakdown of water and sanitation systems, and exhausted the resources of
many Iraqi families.

According to the U.N., Iraq's "extremely fragile" health system is operating
at no more than half of its capacity and is struggling to cope as
pre-existing problems were exacerbated by the recent war.  Iraq has seen
alarming increases in malnutrition, diarrhea and other illnesses among
children since the start of the war.

More than a month after President Bush declared the end of major hostilities
in the recent U.S.-led war on Iraq, "there is quite a lot of confusion
still," said All Our Children's Weaver.  Authorities "are not sure what
medical supplies are in storage, and distribution systems have broken down."

"Don't forget Iraq," Weaver urged.  "Even though major media may not be
giving the humanitarian situation much attention, there are still serious
humanitarian needs in Iraq - and a lot of things we can do to help."

Besides Church World Service and the National Council of Churches U.S.A.,
All Our Children partners are: Jubilee Partners, Mennonite Central
Committee, Sojourners, Lutheran World Relief, Stop Hunger Now and Oxfam
America.

To date, the following Church World Service member denominations have
provided financial support for All Our Children through CWS: Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), Reformed Church in America, United Church of Christ
and Church of the Brethren, along with Episcopal Relief and Development and
the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

In addition to the financial support it has raised specifically for the All
Our Children Campaign, Church World Service has contributed more than $5
million for humanitarian assistance since 1991 - most recently, $1.2 million
worth of surgical kits and sterile surgical components.

Contributions are welcome. By mail, write CHURCH WORLD SERVICE, All Our
Children Campaign, Account #6801, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart IN 46515. Phone
pledges or credit card donations can be made by calling 1-800-297-1516.
On-line contributions to: www.churchworldservice.org

-end-

Media Contacts:
NCC News, Carol Fouke, 212-870-2252, news@ncccusa.org
CWS News, Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526, jdragin@gis.net; or Ann Walle,
212-870-2654, awalle@churchworldservice.org

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