In Numbers
1.67 million people displaced (IOM)
4.27 million returnees (IOM)
260,587 Iraqis assisted by WFP
253,371 Syrian refugees in Iraq (UNHCR)
32,857 Syrians assisted by WFP
Highlights
• In April, WFP delivered food assistance to over 293,400 people in 10 governorates, reaching over 259,300 IDPs and about 32,900 Syrian refugees.
• WFP conducted its second strategic working group meeting with the Ministry of Migration and Displacement (MoMD), the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) and the Ministry of Trade (MoT), which oversees Iraq’s Public Distribution System of food rations (PDS). This aims to enhance coordination and ensure WFP’s backstopping of government distributions to IDPs. Efforts are being replicated by sub-offices at Governorate level.
Situation Update
• At the start of April, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) announced a new offensive.
The second week of April started with a major surge in violence. The Iraqi security forces conducted a raid into the Hamrin mountains which may have disrupted this new campaign, accounting for the lower number of incidents in the latter half of April.
• Rains continued to swell the rivers and caused disruption to roads and bridges across Ninewa and north eastern Iraq. In the south, the water continued to flood farmlands, rendering them unusable. Due to floods and the Qayarah Bridge closure, WFP commodities could not reach nine large camps in Ninewa. Distributions for these camps will be in May.
• Heavy rains and cold weather slowed down beneficiaries’ redemptions of cash entitlements in Sulaymaniah’s downtown shops, which are now back on track.
• For activities targeting IDPs, limited resources forced WFP to adopt a 6-week distribution cycle and pipeline breaks are expected in May. For resilience projects, WFP is seeking USD 30m to continue scaling up its activities.