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WASHINGTON, June 19 -- The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is donating 10 water purification plants to
Iraq. Each station will have the capacity to purify 520,000 gallons
of water a day. The relief project, once up and running, will supply
the Iraqi people with over five million gallons of uncontaminated
water each day.
According to Ambassador to the United
States Prince Bandar bin Sultan: "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
continues to respond to the needs of the Iraqi people. We have set
up a comprehensive aid package. We have provided a field hospital
along with ambulances, doctors, medical supplies and foodstuffs. The
purification facilities are absolutely necessary due to growing
concerns about the lack of potable water in Iraq."
The existing clean water resources
have been destroyed or contaminated in most Iraqi cities and
villages. Waterborne illnesses such as cholera, dysentery and
diarrhea have proliferated especially among children since the
disruption of clean water supplies. According to the World Health
Organization, diarrheal disease has been one of the three main
killers of children in Iraq in recent years.
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