UN says Australia offers 6.1 mln USD to provide clean water in southern Iraq

BAGHDAD, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia offered 6.1 million U.S. dollars to improve access to clean water and sanitation services for vulnerable children in southern Iraq, the UNICEF said Tuesday.

"Years of conflict, mass displacement, climate change and under-investment in water networks have created a water crisis that is affecting large parts of the country," the UNICEF said in a statement.

"There is an urgent need for immediate and long-term investment in critical water and sanitation services, particularly in the worst affected provinces of Basra and Dhi Qar as well as the city of Diwaniyah," Peter Hawkins, UNICEF's representative in Iraq, was quoted as saying.

According to the statement, the donation will allow UNICEF to cooperate with Iraq's southern provinces to provide clean water for 3.8 million children over the next two years.

The Australian donation will improve access to water in health centers and schools for 1.7 million families.

"The Australian government is pleased to be partnering with UNICEF in providing safe drinking water to the most vulnerable communities," Joanne Loundes, Australian ambassador to Iraq, was quoted as saying.

Last year, thousands of people were hospitalized because of water contamination in Iraq's oil-rich southern province of Basra, some 550 km south of the capital Baghdad.

Poisonous and undrinkable water caused several illnesses and fuelled raging protests in the province. Enditem