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Over 10 million Iraqis need some form of humanitarian assistance

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Iraq
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Govt. Iraq
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Over 10 million Iraqis need some form of humanitarian assistance

(Baghdad, 31 January 2016): At a joint launch today in Baghdad, the Government of Iraq and the United Nations called for international help to respond to the growing humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

Ten million Iraqis, nearly one third of the population, urgently require some form of humanitarian assistance, including 3.3 million people who have fled their homes since January 2014. Thousands of Iraqis are in areas under siege by combatant forces, unable to escape or seek safety. In addition, 250,000 Syrian refugees have sought safety in Iraq, the majority in the Kurdistan Region, where more than one million displaced people are also residing; 500,000 people have returned to their home areas, where they are trying to rebuild their lives.

“We face a major humanitarian emergency. We need the international community’s support to prevent further deterioration,” Dr. Jassim Mohammed Mohammed Al-Jaff, Minister of Migration and Displacement and Chairman of the Higher Committee for the Relief and Sheltering of IDPs, said.

“The national effort to address the humanitarian crisis in Iraq is impressive, involving the Federal Government, Kurdish authorities and civil society. With needs outstripping national capacities, international action and engagement are essential to help people in trouble, particularly in coming months as we expect the crisis to widen and worsen,” said Ms. Lise Grande, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq.

The Government of Iraq and the United Nations are jointly launching two plans for 2016: the Government’s “2016 Plan for Relief, Sheltering, and Stabilization” and the UN and partners’ “2016 Iraq Humanitarian Response Plan”.

The Government’s plan outlines the steps that need to be taken to register vulnerable people and to provide legal protection and adequate shelter. The plan includes components on food security, education, health and cash assistance.

The Government’s federal budget is expected to channel 800 billion Iraqi dinars (USD 667 million) through the plan, leaving an estimated deficit of 1,069 billion dinars (USD 891 million).

“With the expanding needs, the allocation through the federal budget will not be sufficient. We expect that the highly prioritized Humanitarian Response Plan will help cover part of the gap”, said Jassim Al-Jaff.

The UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan requests USD 861 million to respond to the most life-threatening needs of 7.3 million people across Iraq. More than 90 humanitarian organizations, including international and national NGOs, UN agencies and international organizations have projects in the plan, which aims to provide emergency packages for the most vulnerable people across the country.

A joint operational plan linking the efforts of the Government and humanitarian organizations is being elaborated.

Iraq 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan downloadable at: https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/iraq/document/2016-iraq-humanitarian-response-plan

For further information, please contact: jcmccomsec@gmail.com or David Swanson, Public Information Officer, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Iraq, (swanson@un.org /+964 (0)750 3770849)

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.