The NGOs are best positioned and best equipped to distribute aid and work to alleviate hardship and suffering. There is nothing more demeaning than to see soldiers fling food parcels from the backs of trucks. Humanitarian agencies have an independence and professionalism in terms of the distribution of aid which cannot be replicated by soldiers. We should be in no doubt that the humanitarian situation in Iraq is indeed a pressing one. Demands for health and medical services continue to outstrip supplies. The impact of instability and the consequent breakdown of basic services is more severe in the principal cities, particularly Baghdad.