Iraq News Now

I. Key Messages

• From April 21st to May 18th, the Civil Defense Directorate reported 121 fires in 16 governorates, with 658 ha of cropland burned.

• 59,700 laying hens were diagnosed with bird flu in Ninewah governorate.

• 2.84 million people (around 7% of Iraq’s total population) had insufficient food consumption based on WFP mVAM data from April 18th to May 16th.

II. Overview

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to affect the world, including Iraq. As of May 18, 2020, the World Health Organization reported 3,404 cases in Iraq, with 144 deaths. Compared to last week, the number of COVID-19 cases in Iraq increased 46%, while the global caseload decreased 3%. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Bank continue to track the impact of this crisis on food security, agriculture production and the overall food system.