Over 50% Iraqis Risk Facing Food Insecurity - UN World Food Programme
16:40 10.04.2017(updated 16:46 10.04.2017)
According to UN World Food Programme, 53 percent of the Iraqi population may be at risk of food insecurity and cannot bear any further food price increases.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A study found that 53 percent of the Iraqi population may be at risk of food insecurity and cannot bear any further food price increases, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said Monday.
"The analysis found that 53 percent of [Iraqi] residents and 66 percent of internally displaced people are vulnerable to food insecurity. The prevalence of food insecurity was twice as high among internally displaced families compared to those remaining in their homes," the WFP said in its press release, citing the report conducted jointly with the Iraqi government in 2016.
According to the WFP statement, "any further shocks such as conflict or increases in basic food prices" would be detrimental to the already precarious situation in which the Iraqis most vulnerable to food insecurity found themselves.
The study also found that 2.5 percent of the Iraqis already were food insecure and almost 75 percent of children under age of 15 have to work to help their families procure food instead of going to school.
The study was conducted among 20,000 Iraqi families in rural and urban areas, including permanent residents and internally displaced people.
The research was carried out before the start of a recent operation to liberate Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State terrorist group, banned in Russia and many other countries.
The offensive of the government forces backed by the US-led coalition began in October 2016. Local authorities told Sputnik last Friday that almost 500,000 people had fled Mosul since the beginning of the operation.
© Sputnik
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