UNITED NATIONS

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to
drink! This could very
soon turn into a global
reality according to the
UN. Some 80 countries
and 40 per cent of the
world's population are
already in the throes of
a 'water stress'. Said Wally N'Dow, secretary general of the forthcoming Istanbul
conference to be held in June, that "If massive improvement does not happen in providing water, managing it and saving it, we
are going to have a monumental crisis." In
fact, the June conference is aimed at directing the world's attention to the crucial
water crisis. Dow adds that in the next
So years, water will sweep aside oil to
become the cause of great conflicts
between nations and peoples.

After five years of international sanctions,
Iraq is wallowing in a devastated health
care system. Sanctions have set back health
care in Iraq by So years, said the World
Health Organization (WHO) in a statement
released on March 25. Since the 1991 Gulf
war, Iraqis have been forced to subsist on a
semi-starvation diet. Further, diseases such
as malaria, typhoid and cholera have risen
to epidemic levels. The WHO is calling for a
reconsideration of the financial and trade
embargo against Iraq.