Value of UN’s Oil-for-Food relief items for Iraq approaches $1 billion

The total value of priority items from the United Nations Oil-for-Food humanitarian pipeline that can be shipped to Iraq has more than doubled to $949 million thanks to the Security Council’s three-week extension of the programme, on which 60 per cent of Iraqis depend as their sole source of sustenance.

Before the Council extended Secretary-General Kofi Annan's authority last month to run the programme for another three weeks until 3 June, the total stood at $455 million.

The UN Office of the Iraq Programme (OIP), which oversees the programme, under which Baghdad was allowed to use part of its oil revenues to buy food and humanitarian supplies, said today that most of the supplies were in the food ($463 million), electricity ($239 million), agriculture ($119 million) and health ($88 million) sectors.

The programme was temporarily halted on 17 March after the withdrawal of all UN staff from Iraq on the eve of hostilities. The Council adopted a resolution on 28 March giving Mr. Annan more authority to administer the operation for the next 45 days, until 12 May, including prioritizing deliveries and finding new entry ports to speed their shipment. It extended the Secretary-General’s powers on 24 April.