HIGHLIGHTS
IDP camp closures, consolidations continue in Anbar
DART monitors humanitarian impact of heavy rainfall, flooding in Iraq
USAID/OFDA partner reaches 7,800 people with explosive hazard risk education trainings
WFP supports 264,000 people with emergency food assistance in January, 102,200 people in February
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recently released the 2019 Iraq Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), requesting $701 million to provide life-saving assistance to nearly 1.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and host community members. The HRP aims to facilitate a post-conflict transition to durable solutions by supporting access to basic services and livelihood opportunities for IDPs and returnees; ensure the centrality of protection, including through the development of a post-conflict protection strategy; and strengthen contingency planning and preparedness for potential future emergencies, such as disease outbreaks or natural disasters.
Although more than 4.2 million people had returned to areas of origin as of February 28, more than 1.7 million people remain displaced, with more than 1 million IDPs in protracted displacement for more than three years, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Many displaced Iraqis will continue to require humanitarian assistance throughout 2019.
Relief actors continue to report collective punishment of people with perceived affiliations to extremist groups, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In recent weeks, IDPs residing in camps in Kirkuk and Ninewa governorates have reported that camp security guards and Government of Iraq (GoI)-affiliated armed forces have restricted IDPs’ freedom of movement, preventing them from leaving the camps or from returning to their areas of origin.