Iraq
Families in Mosul make a living by collecting and selling scrap found in the Old City. Photo: screenshot / Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Thirty-eight percent – or 1.8 million people – in Nineveh live under the poverty line, the head of Nineveh’s statistics directorate told Rudaw on Monday.
Thirty-eight percent of Nineveh’s population earn less than 105,000 dinars ($72) per month, Novel Sulaiman said.
Locals have told Rudaw how they provide for their families.
"We go out from the early morning and until one or two o’clock. We are 13 brothers collecting cans, steel bars and other remnants here. We sell them for 13,000 to 15,000 (Iraqi dinars),” Bassam Ahmed told Rudaw’s Hiwa Hussamadin from Mosul.
The province is still reeling from Islamic State (ISIS) rule, especially in the provincial capital of Mosul, much of which still lies in ruins.
"The main reason behind this poverty was the invasion of the city [of Mosul] by Daesh (Arabic acronym for ISIS) which devastated the infrastructure of the city. The [ISIS conflict] incurred 14 billion dinars in damages to the city's all sectors," Sulaiman added.
Access to healthcare and health facilities remains a problem, especially amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
"We have spoken with the [Iraqi] Council of Ministers, as well as the other provinces and parliamentarians on the matter at hand. The Council of Ministers has decided to reduce the hours and days of the lockdown in place,” Mosul Governor Najim al-Jabouri said on Monday.
“We are hopeful that this virus will reduce and we will be able to accelerate the use of vaccines so life will go back normal," he added.
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