At that time he described for the aides 'the less visible, less dramatic non-material side of the economic sanctions' impact'. In identifying the many coping methods to which Iraq's once-dominant middle class has been reduced in dealing with the economic crisis, he reminded the aides that 'many of those methods are illegal, and reliance on them is creating in Iraq a generation of fixers, manipulators of the system, rather than thinkers or strategists'. As a result of the sanctions, overall food shortages remain a serious problem in Iraq. Iraq's middle class is disappearing', she said, 'and the stunted children will never recover. The monthly food basket lasts only about 21 days.
Many families have no other income, and so are living in a situation of complete deprivation'.
Like other UN officials working in Baghdad, Burghardt made clear her criticisms of the Iraqi regime. She said that the Government of Iraq deals with the food question solely on an emergency basis, and has been reluctant to go forward towards a full solution, wanting to show clearly the full effects of the sanctions. However, in describing the urgent need for income-generating programs in Iraq, she explained the other side of the problem. She had tried to initiate such programs, the WFP director said, but her ideas 'did not fly' in headquarters. The US is the biggest donor to the World Food Program, and played a key role in preventing the new plans.