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MSF in Iraq annual report 2021

The effects of years of conflict and instability are still felt in Iraq, more evidently in regions that witnessed fighting between the Islamic State (IS) group and the Iraqi-led coalition. In 2021, Iraq continued to be severely affected by COVID-19, with the country experiencing its second and third COVID-19 waves, each recording a higher number of infections and deaths than the one before it.

The pandemic significantly impacted the ongoing recovery of the health system and people’s ability to access healthcare services. Many healthcare facilities across the country suspended their regular programmes to focus on treating COVID-19 patients.

MSF teams continued to provide a wide range of essential medical services and supported the response to health emergencies and health needs caused by the recent war against IS, the consequent displacement and return of millions of people, people’s under-served healthcare needs and the COVID-19 pandemic.

This annual report provides an overview and the highlights of our activities across Iraq during 2021.

Click here to read the full report.

(Source: MSF)

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Germany supports Critical Assistance to Displaced in Iraq

Germany supports WFP’s critical assistance to displaced and refugee families in Iraq

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received a €6 million contribution from the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) to support WFP’s monthly food assistance to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) and Syrian refugees living in Iraq.

WFP monthly food assistance to displaced families and refugees has become more critical with the rise in food prices and the devaluation of the Iraqi currency as the country grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic effects.

This contribution is part of the Germany’s multi-year commitment to WFP to ensure no one is left behind.

“We share a common responsibility to support those in need, especially refugees and the displaced, and we value that Iraq and in particular the communities in Duhok and Sulaymaniyah have taken in so many families who had to leave their homes,” said Chargé d’Affairs a.i. of the German Embassy in Baghdad Annika Bolten-Drutschmann. “”We consider WFP’s cash transfers a flexible means of assistance that also benefits the host community and small businesses through buying locally.”

WFP provides most of its monthly assistance to vulnerable families through cash transfers, through practical ‘mobile money’ solutions – where families receive cash assistance via mobile phone and can also use it electronically at local stores or – in the case of people living in camps – through electronic vouchers that can be redeemed in camp food shops. When such electronic solutions are not possible, for instance in areas where there is no network coverage, WFP provides through its partners direct cash assistance.

In addition, WFP distributes ready-to-eat food parcels for families who have to be quarantined as part of COVID-19 measures. These rations have also been useful in the past months following tragic fires which occurred in camps in Duhok and Sulaymaniyah.

“Germany continues to be a key partner for WFP in Iraq,” said WFP Representative in Iraq Ally-Raza Qureshi. “As one of WFP’s few partners to make multi-year contributions, Germany’s leading example enables WFP to plan its assistance this and next year, to best meet the food requirements of families in need. We thank the German government and people for their support at this critical time.”

Alongside ongoing emergency operations, WFP is expanding resilience-building and livelihoods activities across the country, to help conflict-affected families and communities create and sustain work opportunities. These are particularly needed as families continue to return home from camps, or settle in new areas. Germany is also a staunch supporter of these endeavours, through its Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

(Source: UN)

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US contributes $53.3m to UNHCR Ops in Iraq

UNHCR welcomes the generous contribution of USD 53.3 million by the Government of the United States of America (USA) towards UNHCR’s protection and assistance programmes to support vulnerable displaced persons (IDPs) and Syrian refugees in Iraq.

This contribution brings the total USA contribution to UNHCR Iraq in 2021 to USD 88 million. Thus far, the UNHCR operation in Iraq is 35% funded.

There are over 247,000 Syrian refugees and 1.2 million IDPs currently living in Iraq. For these vulnerable families living through protracted displacement under dire living conditions, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn has been remarkably severe.

This timely donation will enable UNHCR to support the refugees and IDPs with life-saving services. The services include, among others, protection interventions covering legal protection and registration services, child protection, the prevention of gender-based violence, and community-based protection, in addition to camp management, education support, and the rehabilitation of infrastructure, schools, and health facilities.

“The U.S. Mission in Iraq is proud of its long-standing support of UNHCR in Iraq. Our contributions to UNHCR reinforce our commitment to the Iraqi people for voluntary, sustainable, long-term solutions for those citizens who suffered under ISIS and now seek to return home and rebuild their lives,” said U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Matthew H. Tueller.

“The tough economic situation had significantly impacted the lives of refugee and IDP families. However, the continuous and reliable support from the USA helps us continue providing life-saving assistance, which can be a lifeline for these families”, said Nicole Epting, UNHCR Representative a.i.

UNHCR is grateful for the generous and long-standing support of the United States to UNHCR globally. This support means that UNHCR can continue to offer protection and pursue durable solutions for internally displaced people and refugees in Iraq.

(Source: UN)

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Germany, IOM Strengthen Humanitarian Response in Iraq

Germany, IOM Strengthen Partnership for Evolving Humanitarian Response in Iraq

During the ISIL conflict, an estimated six million Iraqis were displaced.

Thousands of families have returned to their areas of origin since the end of the crisis, but unstable conditions in Iraq have caused a significant shift in the country’s humanitarian situation.

As country-wide camp consolidation and closure processes move forward, internally displaced persons (IDPs) are reckoning with the complex experiences of premature return and secondary displacement. Returnees residing in hotspots of severe living conditions and IDPs living in strained camps and informal sites are in urgent need of adapted humanitarian assistance.

As a part of its ongoing support for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Iraq, the Government of Germany will provide additional multi-year humanitarian funding that will better position IOM to adapt and rapidly implement its intervention strategy to address the evolving needs of the affected populations while remaining flexible to respond to sudden onset crises.

The latest grant from the German Federal Foreign Office (FFO) supplements an ongoing IOM Iraq project launched in March 2020. In addition to enhancing visibility, this multi-year humanitarian funding allows for longer-term planning and programme continuity. This is crucial, as remaining populations facing protracted displacement are in need of sustained assistance until solutions to their displacement are found.

“This funding from the German Federal Foreign Office is not only generous, it is flexible and will extend over the years to come,” said IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Gerard Waite. “This will enhance IOM’s capacity to pursue a holistic and sustained response to displacement that corresponds to the scope of urgent need in Iraq.”

The funding will be used to implement a broad range of humanitarian activities, from camp management in formal and informal sites to specialized, community-based protection and mental health and psychosocial support services both in- and out-of-camp. For those living in sub-standard or damaged shelters, funding will provide immediate relief solutions for improved safety, protection and living conditions. Interventions will also provide non-food item assistance and support primary health care centres to ensure accessibility and quality of essential services.

“Germany remains committed to the needs of internally displaced persons in Iraq. The broad range of individual IDP situations requires tailor-made solutions. We want to give partner organisations as much flexibility as possible so they can adapt to changing situations on the ground and live up to their ambition to deliver humanitarian assistance in accordance with priority needs,” said Chargé d’affaires Peter Felten (pictured) of the German Embassy in Iraq. “We are very happy to continue our partnership with IOM in this regard.”

Continuing support from the Government of Germany enables IOM Iraq to respond to pressing humanitarian needs while also working to determine root causes of and durable solutions to displacement, thereby facilitating the safe relocation or return and reintegration of IDPs into their communities.

(Source: UN)

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HRW: Inadequate Plans for Camp Closures

From Human Rights Watch (HRW). Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Inadequate Plans for Camp Closures

Recent camp closures have stripped thousands of displaced people of essential services during the Covid-19 pandemic, with inadequate government plans for their return home, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.

Click here to read the full article.

(Source: HRW)

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Iraq “makes major progress” in Closing IDP Camps

By Gilgamesh Nabeel for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Iraq makes major progress in closing camps for the displaced

After six years of displacement, Iraq has closed around 62% of its remaining camps for internally displaced persons over the past six months and is planning to close all of them this year.

Click here to read the full story.

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Iraqi Camp Closures leave 100,000 in Limbo

The ongoing rapid closure of displacement camps in Iraq is rendering homeless more than 100,000 people in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and at the onset of winter.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is extremely concerned about the fate of thousands of displaced families living in camps across the country that are being closed down rapidly, including NRC-managed Hammam Al Alil Camp.

People in camps in Baghdad, Kerbala, Divala, Suleimaniya, Anbar, Kirkuk and Ninewa are being forced out with little notice, and are expected to return to their areas of origin. Many come from neighbourhoods that are still totally destroyed and they also risk being blocked at checkpoints, or even arrested, because of lack of security clearance and perceived affiliation with armed groups.

“Closing camps before residents are willing or able to return to their homes does little to end the displacement crisis. On the contrary, it keeps scores of displaced Iraqis trapped in this vicious cycle of displacement, leaving them more vulnerable than ever, especially in the middle of a raging pandemic,” said NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland.

So far, based on instructions by the Iraqi authorities, some 600 households have left Hammam Al Alil Camp — which is one of the largest displacement camps slated to close by next week.

Ahlam, a 49-year-old woman from Mosul living in Hammam Al Alil, burst into tears upon hearing about her forced eviction from the camp. “This is my home. Why would you force me out of my home? We will become homeless. It feels like a funeral to me.” She said her last resort would be to set up her tent somewhere in Mosul. Some camp residents have had to sell their tents simply to cover transport costs to go back to their areas of origin.

Tracking of people who have been forced to leave camps in Baghdad and Kerbala in the past weeks shows that nearly half of them have not been able to return to their areas of origin so far, according to the International Organisation of Migration. Many end up in precarious settings on the edge of towns, in damaged, unsafe apartments or unfinished buildings, lacking basic necessities and health care, and forced into further displacement.

A 47-year-old woman pushed out of a camp last year recounted how she had to move four times before ending up in another camp — a scenario faced also last week by evicted families who made plans to move to another camp only to be told the second camp is closing down too.

“The most difficult thing when they transport you in cars and you don’t know where you are heading, is to know that most of these areas do not want you,” the woman said.

NRC calls on the Iraqi government to provide a clear plan for camp closures and share that information with families at least a month ahead so that they can make necessary arrangements. Authorities need to ensure coordination with receiving districts so that returnees are not turned away at checkpoints, as well as involve humanitarian organisations in the planning so that returnees can be helped en route and upon arrival at their destination. Those who are unable to return safely to their homes also need to be provided with resettlement and local integration options.

“Anything short of such measures will expose tens of thousands of displaced Iraqis to continued deprivation, rejection and violence,” Jan Egeland added. “We urge the international community to keep supporting the Iraqis forced out of camps, many of whom have no chance of returning home. With the pandemic and onset of winter, it is urgent to scale up emergency support.”

(Source: NRC, ReliefWeb)

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US continues to Support UNHCR in Iraq

United States of America continues its support to UNHCR critical work in Iraq

UNHCR welcomes the new contribution of USD 41.8 Million from the United States of America that aims at supporting the response for Internally Displaced Iraqis, the 2020/2021 Syria Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan, refugees and asylum seekers as well as the response for COVID-19.

This brings the total US contribution to UNHCR Iraq over USD 107 Million this year. So far, the UNHCR operation in Iraq is 31% funded.

In Iraq today, there are still thousands of vulnerable displaced families that are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. With close to 1.4 million IDPs, 4.7 million returnees, and 286,000 refugees and asylum seekers, the needs are significant and ongoing support is needed to ensure a stable and peaceful recovery.

More so during the prevailing COVID-19 health crisis, which has significantly exacerbated the protection risks faced by vulnerable displaced families and has further hindered their access to basic goods, essential services, and livelihood opportunities.

This timely and generous donation from the United States of America will help UNHCR provide displaced families with the needed protection services, including child protection, prevention of sexual and gender-based violence and protection monitoring, as well as cash assistance to meet their basic needs.

The Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Steven Fagin, emphasized the United States is deeply committed to the welfare of displaced Iraqis, and to supporting UNHCR’s work toward sustainable, voluntary, and safe returns, local integration, and other solutions.

He said the United States is dedicated to working with the new Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure that all components of Iraqi society can thrive in their homeland, and that Syrian and other refugees and asylum seekers in Iraq receive the assistance they need. Supporting these populations and their communities is part of bolstering Iraq’s stability and success.

UNHCR’s Acting Representative Philippa Candler stated:

“With rising challenges, timely funds are needed to help support those displaced by conflict, refugees, asylum seekers and returnees. Donor support is much appreciated during these times, as not only do refugees and displaced persons face the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic but we fear the aftermath will continue to affect livelihood opportunities for the months and years to come.

“UNHCR will spare no effort to provide protection and other support to those in need as we work towards achieving durable solutions for those who are displaced. UNHCR appreciates the support from major donor countries such as the United States of America which makes this ongoing work possible“.

The United States of America remains the biggest donor to UNHCR globally.

(Source: UNHCR)

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Australia contributes $600k to Refugees in Iraq

The Government of Australia has provided AUD 866,000 (USD 591,000) to support the work of UNFPA in Iraq. The funding will provide assistance to 38,000 women and girls, in Duhok and Nineveh Governorates over the next year.

The new contribution will primarily support Syrian refugees who arrived in Iraq in 2019 as a result of the military operations in north-eastern Syria. Women and girls, survivors of gender-based violence; and men, as allies of the prevention and response to gender-based issues, will benefit from prevention and response services, such as psychosocial support and case management.

The funding will also allow UNFPA to procure and pre-position 8,000 dignity kits for women and girls of reproductive age, in particular, refugee and internally displaced populations.

“Australia is pleased to continue to work with UNFPA to ensure the reproductive health needs of women and girls affected by conflict are being met, and work towards a world where women and girls can live free from violence”, said Dr Joanne Loundes (pictured), the Ambassador of Australia to Iraq.

Acknowledging the contribution, Dr Oluremi Sogunro, UNFPA Representative to Iraq, said: “Australia has been a consistent and reliable partner for UNFPA’s work in Iraq. Australia has given UNFPA women and girls in Iraq, through UNFPA, to a total of AUD 16.8 million since October 2014. We couldn’t be more grateful for this trust in our work. With this new commitment, Iraq is a step closer to ensuring no woman or girl is left behind in Iraq”.

(Source: UN)

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Switzerland Supports WFP Assistance to Refugees in Iraq

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a donation of US$522,500 from the Government of Switzerland to support the food needs of nearly 24,000 refugees and internally displaced people for one month.

The funds, coming through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, will be used to provide cash assistance to 13,400 Iraqis displaced by the conflict and 10,400 Syrian refugees.

“During the ongoing pandemic, refugees and displaced persons remain among the most vulnerable in Iraq,” said the Ambassador of Switzerland to Iraq Lukas Gasser.

“Switzerland continues its long-term partnership with WFP, working together to support displaced Iraqis and Syrian refugee families, to get through this difficult time of heightened need – especially as many affected people remain unable to work.”

Due to increased needs caused by COVID-19, WFP has scaled up its assistance in Iraq reaching a total of 76,000 refugees and 280,000 IDPs.

“WFP expresses its continued gratitude for the steadfast support of the people and Government of Switzerland particularly during this difficult time,” said WFP Representative in Iraq Abdirahman Meygag.

“Many IDPs and refugee families had begun to achieve some self-sufficiency in securing their food needs before the pandemic. Now many have lost their jobs, among the worst affected are day labourers and seasonal workers.”

In ongoing efforts to mitigate COVID-19, WFP is pioneering cashless payments in camps, so that people can purchase food in a “contactless” manner. This both reduces the need for banknotes, and helps avoid the need for people to leave the camp and move around more than necessary.

Meanwhile, WFP and its partners continue awareness sessions on precautionary measures, and will begin emergency livelihoods projects as soon as it is safe, to help affected people to work again and secure their food needs.

(Source: UN)