Iraq - IOM Iraq’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) updated figures, released yesterday, identified 3,176,946 internally displaced Iraqis (529,491 families) across Iraq from January 2014 to 13 August 2015.

Based on the available information and the DTM methodology, the UN Humanitarian Country Team planning figure for the humanitarian response holds at 3.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The majority of IDPs (70 per cent) are living in private settings, including: rented housing (39 per cent), host families (29 per cent), and hotels/motels (1 per cent.) A further 19 per cent live in critical shelter arrangements, including: unfinished buildings (9 per cent), religious buildings (5 per cent), and informal settlements (4 per cent); 8 per cent live in camps, and the shelter type of 3 per cent are unknown.

The DTM Group Assessment (GA) aims to verify data through direct field visits to locations hosting IDP populations. Conducted over a three-month period from May through August, the GA collects detailed data on vulnerabilities, priority needs, intentions and other areas. Data is collected by IOM Iraq Rapid Assessment and Response Teams (RART) comprised of 140 field staff members, relying on a network of more than 1,300 key informants throughout the country.

This DTM round analysis assessed the displaced population in paid housing arrangements (rented housing, hotels and motels), profiling approximately 39 per cent of the displaced population (1,233,642 individuals or 205,607 families), the majority of whom are located in the governorates of Erbil, Kirkuk, Baghdad and Sulaymaniyah.

Data indicates that of the assessed population, 94 per cent intend to return to their place of origin. An equal percentage (94 per cent) report feeling safe in the location of displacement, while 6 per cent do not feel safe in their area of displacement. The indicated primary need is shelter, followed by access to work and water.

The most frequently indicated primary reason for displacement is generalized violence and armed conflict (96 per cent), followed by direct threat to family (2 per cent), and family member killed in general violence (1 per cent).

IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss said: “Displacement in Iraq is ongoing; as violence continues millions of people are forced to live far from their homes. In order to most effectively use our limited resources to aid the most vulnerable, it is essential for the humanitarian community to continuously update our knowledge of the needs of displaced people. IOM is working in cooperation with the UN Humanitarian Country Team, humanitarian partners, and government authorities to access hard to reach areas and deliver the life-saving humanitarian assistance required.”

The most recent IOM Iraq DTM Dataset, Dashboards, and Dynamic Displacement Map, in addition to previous DTM products, can be found at: http://iomiraq.net/dtm-page

For further information please contact IOM Iraq.  Sandra Black, Tel. +964 751 234 2550, Email: sblack@iom.int or Laura Nistri, Email: lnistri@iom.int.