US embassy cable - 03KUWAIT2105

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 002105 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE ALSO PASS USAID/W 
STATE PLEASE REPEAT TO IO COLLECTIVE 
STATE FOR PRM/ANE, EUR/SE, NEA/NGA, IO AND SA/PAB 
NSC FOR EABRAMS, SMCCORMICK, STAHIR-KHELI, JDWORKEN 
USAID FOR USAID/A, DCHA/AA, DCHA/RMT, DCHA/FFP 
USAID FOR DCHA/OTI, DCHA/DG, ANE/AA 
USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA:WGARVELINK, BMCCONNELL, KFARNSWORTH 
USAID FOR ANE/AA:WCHAMBERLIN 
ROME FOR FODAG 
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH 
DOHA FOR MSHIRLEY 
ANKARA FOR AMB WRPEARSON, ECON AJSIROTIC AND DART 
AMMAN FOR USAID AND DART 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREF, WFP, IZ 
SUBJECT:  DART AL HILLAH ASSESSMENT 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  DART Field Team West arrived in Al Hillah on 11 May.  On 
12 May, the DART visited a maternity and children's hospital 
in Al Hillah, met with some local wakils, and met with 
representatives of Save the Children/U.S. who were returning 
through Al Hillah from a recent assessment of An Najaf and 
Karbala.  End Summary. 
 
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HEALTH 
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2.  The DART visited the Babylon Maternity and Children's 
Hospital in Al Hillah on 12 May and found it had full 
electricity and water and sufficient stocks of most drugs 
for one month.  However, it is precariously short of oxygen, 
IV fluids, antibiotics, and Pentostam, and has no blood- 
testing capabilities.  Also, the hospital suffers from a 
shortage of fuel for its generator and ambulance and endures 
chronic incubator problems and shortages of vaccines.  The 
sporadic immunization program ended at the onset of war, and 
the Ministry of Health (MOH) has yet to pay salaries.  Many 
of the medical staff, who continued working throughout the 
war, often thwarting would-be looters, reside at the 
hospital to avoid the security risk of commuting. 
 
3.  The 380-bed hospital charges small fees for drugs in 
order to raise funds for overhead and future drug 
procurements from the MOH.  Prior to the war, the hospital 
had to pay 20 percent of its revenue to the Ministry of 
Defense and five percent to the MOH.  The hospital sees 150 
to 200 patients a day, though during the war that number 
increased to 350 because many health centers had closed. 
Approximately 30 to 35 babies are born at the hospital each 
day.  There are 30 specialist doctors and 40 residents, half 
of both are women.  The other two hospitals in Al Hillah are 
the Surgical Hospital and the General Hospital, which has a 
pediatric ward.  All of Al Hillah's primary health centers 
are open. 
 
4.  The greatest problem for children is diarrhea.  The four 
doctors with whom we spoke said the rate was slightly higher 
than normal for this time of year.  A gynecologist at the 
hospital, said that about 80 percent of the women she treats 
are anemic.  As a result, there is a significant birth- 
weight problem.  She said hypertension and bleeding were two 
other serious problems among women. 
 
5.  Last week, CARE provided a two-month supply of 
therapeutic milk and high-protein biscuits, and Medecins 
Sans Frontieres visited recently, bringing milk and feeding 
bottles.  The International Committee of the Red Cross 
(ICRC) has also visited.  The staff said the Iraqi Red 
Crescent Society was no longer functioning, and that it had 
only worked on a limited basis before the war. 
 
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ASSESSMENT BY SAVE THE CHILDREN 
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6.  A four-person team from Save the Children/U.S. came 
through Al Hillah on their way back to Baghdad in order to 
debrief team west on their two-day rapid assessments of 
Karbala and An Najaf (two persons traveled to each city.) 
Save/U.S. is planning on setting up small offices, comprised 
of two expats and a small number of national staff in 
Karbala and An Najaf. 
 
7.  In Karbala, Save/U.S. visited a pediatric hospital, a 
number of schools, the Ministry of Education, religious 
leaders, and civil affairs teams.  The main problems in 
Karbala include a shortage of life-saving drugs, increasing 
cases of diarrhea (one doctor in the main hospital believes 
that it is reaching epidemic proportions), severe lack of 
protein in the diets of the hospital patients, and water and 
sanitation issues (including lack of sanitation and 
treatment of water facilities.)  Save/U.S. did not encounter 
any issues regarding unexploded ordnance (UXOs) in schools, 
however, targeted water and sanitation interventions are 
needed.  The Save/U.S. also found pockets of internally 
displaced persons (IDPs) living in empty lots around the 
city; most seemed to be old caseload IDPs. 
 
8.  In terms of implementation plans in Karbala, Save/U.S. 
would like to focus efforts on providing life-saving drugs, 
small equipment, materials, and fresh food to hospitals, 
providing support to the referral and supply system for 
clinics, and addressing water and sanitation needs in 
schools.  Save/U.S. also reported that tensions are on the 
rise between the local population and Coalition forces. 
 
9.  In An Najaf, the Save/U.S. team visited various 
hospitals, schools and religious leaders.  They found 
increased cases of diarrhea, suspected cholera cases, 
problems with sanitation and waste disposal, and suspected 
problems with UXOs in school buildings.  In the main 
pediatric hospital, 70 percent of patients (about 170 per 
day) have diarrhea.  Of those, 10 to 20 percent are severe 
(some seem to have symptoms of cholera.)  About three to 
four children per week are admitted to the hospital with 
injuries related to UXOs. 
 
10.  In An Najaf, the sanitation and waste disposal system 
is working at full capacity; however, this only meets 20 
percent of the city's needs.  Save/U.S. was told that 
although many of the schools are open (about 50 percent of 
schools in the city are open at this time), parents are 
afraid to send their children because of possible UXOs in 
buildings and lack of security in the area (mainly dealing 
with looters and rumors of kidnappings.)  Although looting 
has been fairly minimal in An Najaf, it does continue to 
occur.  The Ministry of Social Affairs was looted of its 
contents on 12 May; all records were also apparently 
destroyed. 
 
11.  According to Save/U.S., the religious community has 
stepped up in a very positive way since the war began.  They 
have been able to keep peace and cohesion amongst community 
members, which has resulted in lower incidents of looting 
and continued provision of basic services to the community. 
Save/U.S. plans to provide medical assistance to some of the 
hospitals with the most need and assist the Ministry of 
Social Affairs to get up and running again, (assistance with 
small-scale repair of the nursery/mental hospital for 
children and adolescents in town). 
 
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FOOD 
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12.  According to food wakils (distribution agents) in Al 
Hillah, the public distribution system (PDS) is functioning 
and all wakils are in place for future ration distributions. 
The last food distribution was conducted during the first 
week in May.  Certain commodity shortages were reported and 
some recipients voiced concern regarding the quality of 
wheat and rice. 
 
13.  According to U.N. World Food Program national staff, 
the two major Al Hillah food warehouses are intact though 
minor repairs are needed such as locks and windows. Although 
the warehouses are stocked, food distributions are hampered 
by the presence of Coalition forces that have established 
themselves inside the warehouse. Current warehouse 
operations are allowed by coalition troops, but are limited 
to approximately 60 trucks per day. Normal warehouse 
operations can handle approximately 300 to 400 trucks per 
day.  The DART has also learned from Coalition forces that 
this problem has been recognized and the coalition is 
looking into correcting the problem.  The DART will monitor 
the issue. 
 
14.  The grain silo in Al Hillah is intact and stocked with 
an estimated one-month supply of grain.  All fifteen mills 
that serve the Babil governate are operational with 
electricity and back-up generators. 
 
15.  Several issues of concern include the shortages of 
flour bags at the mills, the shortage of fuel, an increase 
in fuel prices, and lack of salaries for Ministry of Trade 
personnel. 
 
JONES