Iraq - As 2014 drew to a close, IOM’s Rapid Assessment and Response Teams (RART) distributed the first winterized non-food item (NFI) kits to 980 families in Anbar governorate. Between 24 and 27 December, IOM staff aided 980 displaced families in the city of Ar-Rahhaliya, located in Iraq’s western Anbar governorate. The displaced are seeking refuge from ongoing violence in Fallujah, Ramadi and Heet.

Working in close coordination with local authorities, host community representatives and representatives from the displaced population in Al Rutba district, as well as with IOM staff from both the Erbil and Baghdad hubs, RART staff successfully delivered life-saving aid at seven distributions over the three-day period. The NFI kits contained items necessary to survive cold winter weather and included thick blankets, carpets, plastic sheeting and kerosene heaters and stoves, as well as mattresses, pillows, kitchen sets, hygiene kits and other essential items.

The items in the NFI kits were funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has pledged a half billion dollars to UN agencies towards alleviating the conditions of the 2.1 million Iraqis displaced by the recent crisis. IOM has used its USD 50 million allotment to fund non-food aid, shelter, livelihoods activities and health services.

Beneficiaries at the distribution told IOM staff that this was the first aid they had received. One of them, Khalid, told staff: “My family and I escaped with just our lives and nothing else, without thinking what might come next. With assistance from the local community, and now from IOM, it really does put us in a better condition.”

The IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) reports that 377,988 of Iraq’s 2.1 million displaced persons are currently located in Anbar governorate. Nearly all of the displaced originate from other parts of Anbar, and a significant percentage of them are housed with host families, in unfinished buildings and informal settlements.

The Mayor of Ar-Rahhaliya, Mo’id Mohammed, was present with other local authorities to support the delivery of non-food aid to families.  “Managing a distribution that serves so many people shows a high level of preparation and logistic coordination,” he said. “This is the first humanitarian aid many of these families have received.”

“Despite the challenges of access in areas where violence and conflict are still ongoing, IOM endeavours to deliver aid wherever it is needed, in coordination with local and Iraqi governmental authorities, to serve the most vulnerable,” said IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss. “The magnificent teamwork that produced our successful distribution in Anbar governorate was representative of IOM’s ongoing coordination throughout the 18 governorates of Iraq.”

As of 5 January 2015, IOM Iraq has distributed 72,268 NFI kits, of which 35,028 have been winterized kits, in response to the most recent crisis, which began in January 2014. Distributions are ongoing and occur throughout Iraq, as security access allows.

To access IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, please visit: http://iomiraq.net/dtm-page

For more information, please contact

Sandra Black

IOM Iraq

Tel: +964 751 234 2550

Email: sblack@iom.int