[originaltext] The UN agency, the World Food Programme, says Iraq is facing a

The UN agency, the World Food Programme, says Iraq is facing a food crisis which is causing enormous damage to its population, especially its children. The agency said more and more Iraqis were spending their whole day struggling to find food for survival and the social fabric of the nation was disintegrating. ’It said an entire generation of children was being harmed irreparably, and the country was at a point of no return.
   WFP says that 60% of Iraq’s population that’s 12 million people, are struggling to survive because of food shortages. Food for the average family costs the equivalent of $26 a month. The devaluation of the Iraqi dinar means that few can afford this. Levels of severe malnutrition among children under five now compare with sub-Sahara in Africa. The infant mortality rate has risen by more than 700% compared with before the Gulf War. Many donor states say that the Baghdad government should take the blame for this because it refuses to raise money for food by selling oil through the UN as the sanction rules allow. WFP is asking for $122 million to help feed 2 million people, mostly those under 5 or over 70. That’s double the size of last year’s programme, although the agency says it’s still a fraction of the real need. WFP also acknowledges that it’s unlikely that governments around the world will respond fully to this appeal.