Iraq a worsening humanitarian crisis

The humanitarian crisis in Iraq is one of the largest, most complex and volatile in the world. Over 10 million Iraqis – nearly a third of the population – require some form of humanitarian assistance.

During the next six months, as many as 2.5 million people may become newly displaced along the Anbar and Mosul corridors and in Mosul city. More than 85,000 people fled Fallujah in May and June, joining the 3.3 million Iraqis currently displaced across the country.

Temperatures are reaching over 120 degrees Fahrenheit/50 degrees Celsius. Conditions in the camps are extremely difficult. Few, if any of the children, who have been living under the control of ISIL, have been immunized.

Humanitarian partners, working closely with governmental counterparts, have developed a range of scenarios from limited destruction and limited displacement for a limited period to massive destruction and massive displacement for a long period. In a worst case, nearly US$1.8 billion may be required.

So much is being invested in the military campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and it is increasingly urgent to rebalance the investments being made in Iraq to ensure that more help is provided to the Iraqi civilians who have been caught in the conflict and who have lost everything.

 [OCHA]

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