By DPA
New York : Appealing for $42 million for relief assistance for Iraqi children, Unicef said unabated violence in Iraq had pushed children's living conditions to a critical point.
The amount would be used over the next six months to stem an outbreak of diseases in the summer months and to provide health, water, sanitation and education support for children inside Iraq as well as those who fled to Jordan and Syria, Unicef said Wednesday.
The UN organisation said at least four million Iraqis, half of them children, of a total population of more than 25 million, had lost their homes since the war erupted in 2003 following the US military invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.
The United Nations refugee agency said at least two million Iraqis have fled their country and many are now living in Syria and Jordan.
"Humanitarian aid offers a lifeline to Iraq's children and stepping up support now is the best way to protect and invest in Iraq's future," said Daniel Toole, Unicef's acting deputy director general.
Toole said many displaced Iraqi children are now living in some of the most violent regions in their country.
The Iraqi government last week reported the first cases of suspected cholera of the year in children. Unicef warned of a serious outbreak during the summer months.
Only about 30 percent of children in Iraq have access to safe water and health services that are increasingly hard to have under war conditions, it said.