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Written question asked by John Battle (Labour) on Wednesday, 18 June 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 20 June 2008. It was answered by Shahid Malik (Labour) on Monday, 15 September 2008 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Iraq: Reconstruction

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid his Department has allocated to Sadr City, Baghdad to improve (a) electricity, (b) sanitation and (c) medical facilities; what types of aid have been provided in each case; and if he will make a statement.
Answer

The Department for International Development (DFID) is providing support to the people of Sadr City through contributions to UNICEF and to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).UNICEF has provided medical supplies both to the Directorate of Health and to medical facilities in Sadr City. They have provided safe water, hygiene materials and emergency health supplies to over 12,000 families and 3,000 individuals in Sadr City. Water tankering operations serve these families daily, as well as the three major hospitals and other health facilities in the city. UNICEF has also pre-positioned various supplies in medical facilities in the city—including basic health kits for up to 100,000 people—and distributed water purification tablets door-to-door.In Sadr City, ICRC provides food parcels, rice, and hygiene kits to vulnerable families and medical supplies to the Imam Ali general hospital. ICRC transport nearly 10,000 litres of drinking water to the city every day, and in Sadr City have repaired the Urfali water treatment plant—which provides clean water for 10,000 people—and the Al-Rashad psychiatric hospital, the largest health centre in Iraq.ICRC's humanitarian assistance to Sadr City is funded from their core Iraq budget, to which DFID has provided £7 million in 2008. Similarly, UNICEF's work in Sadr City is funded from the UN Consolidated Appeal for Iraq, to which DFID has provided £5 million in 2008.In a wider sense, DFID is encouraging the Government of Iraq to take a lead in providing for the welfare of their own people. In line with this, the Government of Iraq has established an Inter-Ministerial Committee on the regeneration of Sadr City—with a budget of $100 million—which is responsible for both regeneration and delivery of essential services to Sadr City, including electricity.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
213365; 479 c2165W
Session
2007-08
Subjects
Iraq Reconstruction
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk