High birth rate among poverty-stricken Iraqis despite hardship
BAGHDAD, Iraq - As the Iraqi population increases, so does the number of destitute families, those who struggle to make a living out of their labor intensive jobs or rely on financial support from philanthropists. Despite their economic burdens, they are unwilling to stop having children.
In the east of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, near the Tigris river, four brothers have lived for over 30 years in a rundown house.
Jassem Jawdat who provides for his family by selling cold drinking water on the streets of Baghdad in the scorching summer has seven children, two of whom are with special needs.
"I have seven children, five daughters, and two sons. These are my children and my livelihood is very small, I do not have money,” Jawdat, a water seller, told Rudaw’s Anmar Ghazi on Monday.
“This is my daughter. She is with special needs. She is deaf and dumb. This child lives with disabilities. I never sent them to school. My situation is very miserable."
Poverty and dire living conditions have depressed and exhausted Jassem, but they never stopped him from having more children. He and his brothers believe in having as many children, saying that a child’s livelihood is provided by God.
About three million Iraqis are deprived of sufficient food, the World Food Programme (WFP) representative said at the beginning of 2021.
Iraq’s poverty rate stood at about 20 percent before the coronavirus pandemic – but UNICEF warned in July 2020 that an additional 11.7 percent of Iraqis were at risk of falling below the poverty line because of further economic hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Iraq has not had a consensus since 1997 due to political and economic factors.
The ministry of planning predicts in its latest statistics that the population of Iraq in 2030 will reach 50 million, and in 2050 it will reach 82 million people, according to annual estimates. On this basis, the population increases at a rate of 850,000 to one million people per year.
In the east of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, near the Tigris river, four brothers have lived for over 30 years in a rundown house.
Jassem Jawdat who provides for his family by selling cold drinking water on the streets of Baghdad in the scorching summer has seven children, two of whom are with special needs.
"I have seven children, five daughters, and two sons. These are my children and my livelihood is very small, I do not have money,” Jawdat, a water seller, told Rudaw’s Anmar Ghazi on Monday.
“This is my daughter. She is with special needs. She is deaf and dumb. This child lives with disabilities. I never sent them to school. My situation is very miserable."
Poverty and dire living conditions have depressed and exhausted Jassem, but they never stopped him from having more children. He and his brothers believe in having as many children, saying that a child’s livelihood is provided by God.
About three million Iraqis are deprived of sufficient food, the World Food Programme (WFP) representative said at the beginning of 2021.
Iraq’s poverty rate stood at about 20 percent before the coronavirus pandemic – but UNICEF warned in July 2020 that an additional 11.7 percent of Iraqis were at risk of falling below the poverty line because of further economic hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Iraq has not had a consensus since 1997 due to political and economic factors.
The ministry of planning predicts in its latest statistics that the population of Iraq in 2030 will reach 50 million, and in 2050 it will reach 82 million people, according to annual estimates. On this basis, the population increases at a rate of 850,000 to one million people per year.