As coalition forces steadily close in on the northern Iraq cities of Kirkuk and Mosul, a former New Zealand journalist is helping destitute families who have fled their homes in terror and are surviving on what food they can scavenge from day to day.

Brendan Paddy, who grew up in Auckland, is in northern Iraq as a press officer for Save the Children UK. He is interviewing people among the 300,000 families displaced by fighting in the north and speaks with first-hand knowledge to foreign media about the humanitarian impact of war, and what Save the Children is doing to help.

Save the Children, one of the largest and most experienced aid organisations in Iraq, has been operating in the north throughout the conflict, delivering essential supplies of blankets, children’s clothing, fuel and cooking kits to displaced families who have taken shelter in schools and literally ‘headed for the hills’.

“These families are living without adequate shelter or proper sanitation. The biggest killers in this war will be diarrhoea and pneumonia, and these living conditions are conducive to both these diseases," says Mr Paddy.

“About 60% of people here who were dependent on the UN food rations, that were cut off by the war, have only 2-3 weeks of food left. The poorest 20% of people here have no source of income and no food stocks at all. These families are surviving on what they can borrow or scavenge from day to day."

Mr Paddy says that the worst-case scenario is a protracted war.

“Ordinary Iraqis are already vulnerable after 12 years of economic sanctions. If the war continues and food hand-outs do not resume quickly, without a doubt, it will be a humanitarian catastrophe."

Save the Children New Zealand has launched a public appeal for the children of Iraq. Please act now by calling our freephone donation number 0800 167 168 or donate online at www.savethechildren.org.nz

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For more information contact Save the Children 04 385 6847 or info@scnz.org.nz