Areas where sewage pipes were broken by bombing or have deteriorated have raw sewage percolating to the surface in huge pools, often flooding land surrounding housing projects and commercial and residential streets. The entire operating sewage system west of the Tigris, serving one and a half million people, dumps all the raw sewage gathered directly into the river untreated. The rest of the city does little better. The huge sewage treatment plants stand as idle as the ruins of Babylon. The teachers struggle valiantly to help their students but like their students they suffer malnutrition, have no desks, supplies, or training materials.
Malnutrition is the omnipresent physical and psychological fact of the Iraqi people.
Their caloric intake is a fraction of their need. Protein is a minor fraction of minimum health requirements. The government food ration program has kept millions alive and supported everyone. Everywhere people agreed that it is fair, efficient, and the major lifeline for the population. But it provides only about 40 percent of the calories needed and no protein.