Aid to vulnerable Iraqis may come to a complete halt

The UN’s humanitarian chief in Iraq, Marta Ruedas, said aid to vulnerable people in Iraq risks being completely blocked within weeks, as a result of the suspension of government documents allowing humanitarians to carry out critical missions.

On Thursday Ms. Ruedas declared that “our operations are at risk. Without predictable, continual access authorization, humanitarian aid is in danger of rotting in warehouses, putting lives in jeopardy and wasting badly-needed donor funds”.

Prior to November 2019, humanitarian organizations based in Iraq, including the UN and its NGO partners, were granted monthly letters, allowing them to pass through checkpoints unhindered. As of January 2020, almost all of these letters had expired and, with no alternative measures in place, the flow of aid deliveries in Iraq had slowed considerably.

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) says that, unless partners are allowed to immediately resume full, unimpeded movement of their personnel and supplies, humanitarian operations in Iraq “may come to a complete halt within a matter of weeks”, leading to the possibility of hundreds of thousands of people in conflict-affected areas going without food, medicine and materials to get them through the coldest months of the year.

[UN News]

This entry was posted in Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation by Grant Montgomery.