FOUND THIS WHILE GOIN THRU UNICEF'S SITE.. its a report..n i hope UNICEF ppl won't mind my putting this here.. if they mind... pls come n see me in the jail...(if thats where they put the ppl who violate copyrights.)

The children of Iraq are caught up in war for the third time in 20 years. UNICEF is deeply concerned by the further deteriorating conditions brought on by this war and their impact on children of Iraq. Almost half of the population is under the age of 18. Even before the most recent conflict began, many children were highly vulnerable to disease and malnutrition. One in four children under five years of age is chronically malnourished. One in eight children die before their fifth birthday.

The recent war and its effect on children have to be seen in the broader context of Iraq's situation, which is unique in many ways. An eight-year war with Iran in the 1980s and the Gulf War in 1991 greatly damaged Iraq's infrastructure. The country has been under comprehensive United Nations sanctions for 12 years since the Gulf War.

To reduce the humanitarian impact of the sanctions, the Oil for Food Programme (OFFP) was introduced in 1996, which allowed the Iraqi government to sell oil and use the revenue to purchase humanitarian supplies. The programme helped arrest further deterioration in the humanitarian situation but did not greatly improve conditions for most Iraqis, because of revenue shortfalls and structural problems inherent in the programme. Thus, the basic services infrastructure of Iraq on the eve of this war remained in a deplorable state.

In the months leading up to the war in mid-March 2003, UNICEF pre-positioned over $14 million in emergency supplies and equipment in and around Iraq, and established logistics hubs along the border with neighbouring countries, which allowed for quick trans-border deliveries of relief supplies into Iraq once the war broke out.

So may b its time we stop the wars...how long will these NGO's strive on their own..
kids are so unsafe now... sometimes i feel that GOD shud take bak all the children from the earth n keep them safe in heaven...