Poor security was identified as the most serious impediment to the delivery of aid and health care in Baghdad at a meeting of the Red Cross and Red Crescent last week. “The three most urgent problems for health in Iraq today are security, security, and security,” said Dr Ghulam Popal, the World Health Organization's representative in Baghdad.

A young man takes water from a broken water pipe in Basra

AP PHOTO/ADAM BUTLER

Several hospitals have been offered “protection” by armed gangs. Oxfam's media officer in Baghdad, Alex Renton, said one survey had found that more …