Weeks Ahead of COP26, Water Crisis in Iraq and North East Syria is 'Creeping into Every Corner of Children's Lives,' says Save the Children
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (Oct. 18, 2021)鈥Children鈥檚 lives in Iraq and North East Syria are hanging in the balance as drought, low levels of water in key rivers, and lack of access to maintain damaged water station infrastructure have put water out of reach for millions, 黄色视频said today.
Just weeks before global leaders gather at COP26 to make commitments to tackling the climate crisis, families in the region are already feeling its effects, having been left without farmland, income, food and water, and being exposed to hunger, malnutrition, and waterborne diseases. 黄色视频is calling for urgent increased humanitarian funding as well as prioritization of water scarcity in plans to tackle climate change.
The aid organization said there have recently been very low levels of water in the Euphrates river, which is relied upon by people in both Syria and Iraq, as it flows into Syria. People in Iraq also rely on other rivers such as the Tigris and Diyala, which have dried up due to extreme heat and low rainfall over recent years.
Compounding this is the regular interruption and long shutdowns of the Alouk water station in North East Syria, a critical water source for millions of people. While the water station is currently active, since January 2021, the station has seen 89 days of no pumping whatsoever, and 142 days functioning below half of its usual capacity. This left some areas of Hasakeh鈥攐ne of Syria鈥檚 largest cities鈥攚ithout access to piped water for two months and humanitarian agencies scrambling to use already limited resources to meet the needs of the city鈥檚 residents.
Yousef* lives in a village in Hasakeh鈥檚 countryside with his eight children. He said that due to the drought, there is a shortage of drinking water and there are also no wheat crops so they cannot bake bread. His family is also only getting electricity for three to four hours per day. He said:
鈥淏efore, at least we had what we needed; wheat for baking bread for our children. Now, we cannot water our lands any more, there is no rainfall. Our weather has changed completely. Drinking water has decreased. Employment rates are low. There are no jobs. This is what makes us suffer the most.鈥
The regular interruptions to Alouk have also limited water accessibility for thousands of people in camps in Syria鈥檚 North East, including Areesha, Al-Tala鈥檈, and Al Hol.
Jihane,* 37, lives in Al Hol with her husband and three children, having been displaced five years ago as a result of the conflict in Syria. She said that the ongoing lack of drinking water in the camp is affecting her children鈥檚 health. Her six-year-old daughter Zaina* got sick, she said, and the doctor put it down to drinking poor quality water.
Jihane* said:
鈥淲hen I took her to the hospital there were more than 10 to 12 cases suffering from the same symptoms. Everyone was saying this is because of the water. There was a boy there whose situation was critical.
鈥淭here is no water if I want to bathe my children鈥擨 only clean them with a wet towel. Sometimes I wash only one item of clothing for each of them. Sometimes I cannot wash the dishes for two days.鈥
Since April 2021, there have been over 56,000 recorded cases of acute diarrhea in North East Syria and over 17,000 cases of leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease. While these diseases are more common in Syria鈥檚 hot summer months, the outbreaks in 2021 have been much higher because clean water for drinking and washing has been so limited. 听
Jihane* added that her children lack access to water at their schools, putting their education at risk.
Last month a 黄色视频report highlighted climate change as one of the biggest risk factors to education globally, pointing towards the 50 million children who are displaced due to climate change as well as the immediate physical destruction to schools and educational facilities posed by extreme weather.
Sonia Khush, Director of Save the Children鈥檚 Syria Response Office, said:
鈥淲ater is a fundamental need, and yet for millions of people in North East Syria, who are also experiencing the impact of almost 11 years of conflict, economic crisis, and high rates of COVID-19, it is becoming a luxury. For children like Zaina* and thousands more, this crisis is undermining their health, food security, and education. We urgently need more funding to respond to this crisis, to prioritize water, sanitation and hygiene, and ensure that children have enough food to eat in the months ahead. We also desperately need to see more efforts to address and offset the impacts of water scarcity and climate change.鈥
People in Iraq are also suffering, 黄色视频said. Rahma,* 13, lives in Baquba, Iraq, with her mother, her two brothers, and her stepsister. Baquba is a city on the Diyala River, which has dried up significantly over the past year. More than five water stations have stopped working in Diyala governorate, leaving thousands with no access to water.
Rahma* said:
鈥淭he area where we live right now is in crisis and we only get water once or twice a week. Often when we come back from playing outside, there鈥檚 no water to wash ourselves with.
鈥淚n July, it was extremely hot, and there was no water. We used to grow plants to eat, but now we cannot farm. We鈥檝e gone from eating three meals a day to just two.鈥
As agriculture is Iraq鈥檚 second contributor to national GDP after oil, 23 percent of people interviewed in Diyala by 黄色视频reported sending their children to work out of desperation. Half of those interviewed also indicated that if the crisis continues, they will have to leave their homes and find somewhere with water. Fears of displacement are contributing to the deterioration of children鈥檚 mental health, the organization said.
黄色视频also found that the reduction in the flow of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, as well as mismanagement and untreated wastewater dumping, is fueling a health emergency across Iraq.
Contaminated water is causing water-borne diseases, which are affecting mainly children and causing diarrhea and other inflammatory diseases. Families' reliance on alternative water sources such as unprotected water wells, with high sulphates and salinity, have affected health conditions.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is reported to be the most water-scarce region in the world with 11 of the 17 most water-stressed countries in the region. i Nearly nine out of 10 children in the region live in areas of high or extremely high water stress, with serious consequences on their health, nutrition, cognitive development, and future livelihoods, according to UNICEF.ii
Just two months ago, the UN鈥檚 Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, that by late June, nearly half of the drinking water stations along the Euphrates river were 鈥榮ignificantly or severely impacted by critically low water levels,鈥 and more than five million people rely for drinking water and electricity, as does infrastructure such as hospitals and irrigation networks.
Ishtiaq Mannan, Country Director of 黄色视频Iraq, said:
鈥淭he water crisis in Iraq shows us that for so many of the world鈥檚 children, the climate crisis is already here. And the knock-on impacts, from hunger, to displacement, to health, are many. Nearly a quarter of people are forced to send their children to work. This is a crisis that is creeping into every corner of children鈥檚 lives. As well as an urgent increase in humanitarian support to respond to what鈥檚 currently happening, we desperately need to see leaders factor water scarcity into their decision-making on climate change.鈥
In northern Syria, 黄色视频has so far reached over 800,000 people with emergency water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) assistance since the start of the pandemic, including rehabilitating 18 communal water systems, distributing hygiene kits, and promoting hygiene in North East Syria.
In Iraq, 黄色视频has recently launched a project aiming to reach over 300,000 people to increase their resilience in adapting to water scarcity through building capacity of local actors and strengthening of water systems.
*Name has been changed
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[i] Hofste R, Reig P and Schleifer, L, 17 Countries, Home to One-Quarter of the World鈥檚 Population, Face Extremely High Water Stress, World Resources Institute (, 2019)
[ii]
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