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Iraq ‑ Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #1, Fiscal Year (FY) 2019

Countries
Iraq
+ 1 more
Sources
USAID
Publication date

HIGHLIGHTS

  • 2019 HNO identifies 6.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and prioritizes protection, livelihoods, quality service provision

  • Late 2018 flooding affects at least 32,000 people in northwestern and central Iraq

  • Only 9 percent of camp-based IDPs plan to return to areas of origin by mid-2019

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

  • Relief actors, including U.S. Government (USG) partners, are providing winter assistance to vulnerable populations across Iraq. The humanitarian community also continues to engage with the Government of Iraq (GoI) to address critical gaps, particularly shelter assistance and kerosene needed for winter heating. As of mid-December, partners of the Shelter/Non-Food Item (SNFI) Cluster—the coordinating body for humanitarian shelter and non-food item activities, comprising UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders—had provided assistance to nearly 90,000 households, approximately 80 percent of the cluster’s goal for the 2018/2019 winter season.

  • Approximately 6.7 million Iraqis will require humanitarian assistance in the coming year, according to the 2019 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO). Protection of vulnerable individuals remains a priority in 2019, with significant challenges hindering the safe, dignified, and voluntary return of internally displaced persons (IDPs), particularly those who may be perceived to have affiliations to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), often due to the stigmatization associated with their areas of origin or familial ties. The HNO also emphasizes the need to improve the quality of basic services and infrastructure and increase income-generating opportunities for sustained IDP returns.

  • While nearly 4.2 million people had returned to areas of origin as of mid-December, 1.8 million people remained displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The rate of IDP returns has slowed in recent months, and only 9 percent of IDPs residing in formal settlements intend to return to areas of origin by mid-2019, according to a mid-2018 survey. As a result, many displaced Iraqis will continue to rely on humanitarian assistance to meet basic needs in the coming year