IRAQ: Welcome move to upgrade Baghdad slums

Photo: DefenseLINK

Some 2.5 million people live in Sadr City, mostly in cramped houses packed along narrow alleyways

BAGHDAD, 30 July 2009 (IRIN) - Slum dwellers and local NGOs have welcomed the partnership between the government and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) to improve service delivery, reduce poverty and create employment in slums.

"This is really good news; we hope it will put an end to our chronic suffering," said Dhia Hameed Mansour, 46, who works at a grocery in the slums of Baghdad's Sadr City. "Our potable water is often mixed with sewage, our houses are flooded when it rains and we have less than 10 hours of electricity a day.

"For years, we've not breathed fresh air, [but only] smelled sewage and [rubbish] has piled up in our neighbourhood. Even the parks have been turned into garbage dumps where sometimes we burn it when government garbage cleaners do not show up," he said.

Mansour is among some 2.5 million people living in this eastern suburb of Baghdad, about 21 sqkm accommodating the largest concentration of Shias in Iraq, mostly in cramped houses packed along narrow alleyways.

Mounds of festering rubbish grow higher. Small canals are clogged with sewage, producing an overwhelming stench. Power outages are common and much of the area lacks clean drinking water.

Ahmed Mahdi, head of the Karbala-based al-Ghad (Tomorrow) NGO, said: "I think the UN agencies' presence along with the Iraqi government is vital to prepare a guideline for government operations and help them put strategic plans [into place].

For years, we've not breathed fresh air, [but only] smelled sewage and [rubbish] has piled up in our neighbourhood. Even the parks have been turned into garbage dumps...

"The previous regime lacked a vision for the city's planning while billions of dollars have been wasted since 2003 without bringing anything and that is [largely] because of the absence of strategic plans and widespread corruption," Mahdi said.

On 27 July, UN-HABITAT launched its three-year US$70 million Country Programme for 2009-2011, which will focus on providing technical assistance and capacity-building for urban governance, housing and infrastructure and basic services to ministries and local authorities.

In its programme document, UN-HABITAT states that Iraq is facing a severe urban housing shortage of at least 1.5 million units, with the total housing stock of about 2.8 million units well below the minimum requirement.

"The quality of housing has decreased significantly over the past 15 years due to overcrowding and inadequate maintenance," the report states. "More than 60 percent of the population live in dwellings that require major rehabilitation."

It also listed common problems such as stagnant water, open sewage outlets, rubbish and dirt, as well as insecurity, insufficient light and ventilation.

Only half of Iraq's 25 million people have access to regular safe water supplies and 9 percent of the urban population outside Baghdad have access to sewage collection and treatment services, the report states.

"The cities in Iraq, therefore, embody the country's most pressing development challenges, including proliferation of slum-like settlements, unemployment and increased economic and social disparities," the Planning and Development Cooperation Minister said in the report.

As well as the Planning Ministry, the programme will be implemented with the Construction and Housing, Municipalities and Public Works, Education, Displacement and Migration ministries.

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