OVERVIEW: Winterization
The Shelter and Non-Food Items (SNFI) Cluster has identified 84,000 IDP families to receive winter assistance support (60,000 in camps and 24,000 in out-of-camp locations). Humanitarian partners are providing essential winter kits including kerosene heaters, kerosene jerry cans, thermal blankets, carpets and mats (in-kind or with cash), as well as children’s winter clothing, sealing-off kits for people living in critical shelter, and tent replacements. Cash makes up 95 per cent of the response for out-of-camp IDPs. Government authorities are also providing fuel, clothing and tents.
More than 20,000 displaced families have been reached since the beginning of this year’s winter response, including more than 5,700 children.
Response gaps remain in camps in Ninewa, Al-Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala and Kerbala. Additionally, recent mass departures of IDPs mostly from camps in Ninewa has increased the number of out-of-camp IDPs by several thousand, including families of whose whereabouts have become unknown, presumed to be secondarily displaced after leaving camps and failing to return to their areas of origin. Erbil, Duhok and Kirkuk governorates are well covered with winter support, but 6,600 households are yet to be reached in Diyala, Ninewa and Salah Al-Din.
Tent replacement and kerosene provision are critical outstanding needs, with 15,440 tents requiring urgent upgrades. Equally, government pledges to provide IDPs with kerosene have only partially taken place. IDPs urgently need kerosene for cooking and heating, particularly as weather becomes increasingly cold.