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You're watching UNICEF Television.

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Almost 4 million people, some 15% of the population,

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have left their homes in Iraq because of the violence and insecurity plaguing their country.

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Half are children.

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Today, UNICEF is launching a worldwide call for $42 million in aid to help these displaced families,

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who are located both in Iraq and in neighboring countries such as Jordan and Syria.

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While UNICEF, its partners and neighboring governments have done much to address the needs of these families,

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from immunization drives to providing clean water and rebuilding schools,

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much more needs to be done.

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In addition, the number of displaced continues to place heavy burdens

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on social and health care systems already under strain.

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Iraqi children are certainly not better off today than they were two years ago.

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The numbers of children malnourished, the numbers of children not vaccinated,

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the number of children that I cited, the percentages no longer attending school,

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demonstrate that children are not better off today than they were two years ago.

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Certainly between the period of sanctions and two years ago, things had improved,

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and we start to see some improvement in mortality as well as in nutrition.

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But what we've seen is in the last couple of years that progress is starting to fall off

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and we're starting to see real change for the negative.

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UNICEF hopes to use the money to intensify its support of essential programs,

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especially in the areas of education, sanitation, and immunization,

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for 1.6 million Iraqi children over a period of six months.

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While six months will not be enough to cure all of the problems for these young children,

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it will hopefully be a start to a better and healthier future for them all.

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Reporting for UNICEF Television in New York, this is Annalika Okafor, Unite for Children.