Iraq News Now

HIGHLIGHTS

• 2020 Iraq Humanitarian Needs Overview launched.

• Winter response activities provide vital winter items to displaced Iraqis.

• Impact of political situation and demonstrations on humanitarian response activities.

• Development and human rights partners join humanitarian mission to Kirkuk.

FIGURES

# people in need 6.7m

# people targeted for assistance 1.75m

# of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in camps targeted for assistance 0.5m

# of IDPs outside camps targeted for assistance 0.55m

# of IDP returnees targeted for assistance 0.5m

# highly vulnerable people in host communities targeted for assistance 0.2m

FUNDING

701.1 million requested (US$) 88% funded (as of 28 November 2019)

2020 Humanitarian Needs Overview Launched

The 2020 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) was launched in mid-November 2019. The most vulnerable people in Iraq are those directly affected by the 2014-2017 conflict against ISIL, particularly those who were displaced and whose lives and livelihoods were uprooted and destroyed. Of the six million people displaced during the 2014-2017 conflict, humanitarian partners estimate that 4.1 million require some form of humanitarian assistance and that 1.77 million are in acute need. Of the people in acute need, 50 per cent reside in two governorates – Ninewa and Al-Anbar. Approximately 1.5 million people remain internally displaced, 70 per cent of whom have been displaced for more than three years. Return rates have also slowed from the peak period, but the vulnerabilities of the returnees remain – overall, an estimated 514,000 returnees across 286 locations in eight governates live in.

The impact of the conflict continues to affect the physical and mental well-being, living standards and capacity for resilience and recovery of millions of Iraqis. Exposure to violence and explosive ordnance resulted in many people sustaining physical and psychological injuries. Vulnerable people, including people with perceived affiliation to extremists, are among the most in need of assistance and at risk of rights violations. Considerable secondary displacement has been caused by forced and premature returns and forced or coerced departures from camps and informal settlements in Ninewa, Salah Al-Din, Al-Anbar, Kirkuk and Diyala governorates.

Many people are unable to independently meet their basic needs like food and shelter. They lack access to services such as health care, potable water, improved sanitation. Education and livelihoods opportunities remain limited. In addition, many affected people witnessed traumatic events which caused severe psychological harm requiring highly specialized assistance in order to have a safe and dignified life. With reconstruction of vital infrastructure and the re-establishment of essential services facing major delays, at-risk populations increasingly resort to negative coping mechanisms, including debt accrual and dangerous, harmful practices, further undermining resilience and increasing dependence on humanitarian assistance.

Without intra-communal reconciliation, large-scale reconstruction and widespread economic rejuvenation – all of which are outside the humanitarian sphere – these numbers will persist in 2020. The most vulnerable include people with perceived affiliation to extremist groups, who are unwelcome in their areas of origin, face stigma and discrimination, and have significant protection needs. The humanitarian community in Iraq will use the evidence base provided by the HNO to draft the Humanitarian Response Plan and coordinate humanitarian action in 2020.