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Water Chlorinators

Phase II, March 2003

Clean water is a priceless gift. In Iraq, water-borne illnesses take tens of thousands of lives each year as a result of economic sanctions. Clean water is even more crucial for hospital patients, already weakened by illness and trying to recover their strength.

chlorinator
That is why the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) sent four chlorinators to hospitals in Iraq as part of the Campaign of Conscience. This equipment is making a difference in the lives of several thousand Iraqi patients and the nearly 850 staff members who serve them. Each chlorinator has the capacity to provide more than one million gallons of pure water a day. They were installed in these locations:
• Al-Rashad Hospital (for psychiatric and mental patients) in Baghdad Governorate, serves 1,250 patients at a time and has 250 staff members

• Iben Zuhor Hospital (for tuberculosis patients) and Iben Al-Khateeb Hospital in Baghdad Governorate, with room for 350 patients and 475 staff members

• Ein Tamer Hospital, 80 kilometers west of the city of Karbula, with room for 80 patients and 43 staff members

• Surgical Hospital in Al-Naseryah Governorate, with room for 300 patients and 80 staff members

The AFSC worked with the Islamic Relief Agency to deliver the chlorinators to Iraq. In consultation with the Iraq Ministry of Health, sites were selected. In each designated hospital, two persons were taught how to test their water supplies so the devices could be used to best advantage.

chlorinator
Most people in Iraq depend on the rivers—the Tigris and Euphrates and their tributaries—for their water supply. Prior to the war in 1991, Iraqis had equipment to purify water for drinking, and people using wells were satisfied with the taste. Following the war and breakdown of treatment and sanitation systems, water became unpalatable. In some regions, the water is not even suitable for use in agriculture, due to residue from depleted uranium, used in munitions during the war.

UNICEF estimated in 2002 that 500,000 tons of raw sewage are dumped into Iraq’s fresh water systems every day. Parts cannot be purchased to repair water treatment systems because of UN economic sanctions. As a result, an estimated one million people have died from water-borne illnesses in the past twelve years. Half of them were children. People continue to die every day.

The Campaign of Conscience stipulated that the AFSC would apply for a license to send badly needed humanitarian material to Iraq. If a license were not approved, the material would be sent anyway. AFSC applied in June 2000 to send chlorinators to Iraq, failed to receive a timely response, and shipped them in October 2000. The chlorine gas needed to purify the water was purchased in Iraq through the Ministry of Health.

The Campaign of Conscience is a joint effort of AFSC, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and Pax Christi. It began as an effort to change U.S. policy toward Iraq, calling for nonviolent solutions and an end to economic sanctions.

In the United States, the Campaign seeks to educate the public about the impact of U.S. policy on the people of Iraqi and encourages advocacy for change. Nearly 200 organizations and faith communities—including more than 100 Friends meetings and churches, plus more than 5,000 individuals—have joined or supported the Campaign of Conscience.

To find out more about the Campaign of Conscience for the Iraqi People please visit the campaign website.

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