Iraq - From January 2014 through 12 February 2015, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) identified 2,472,444 individuals (412,074 families) displaced by the current crisis across Iraq. Based on the available information, the UN Humanitarian Country Team has revised the humanitarian response planning figure to 2.5 million internally displaced people (IDPs).

The DTM is an information management tool that gathers specific information regarding the status and location of IDPs across the country. The revised DTM methodology, launched at the beginning of 2015, has bolstered IOM’s capacity to identify, collect, and verify the location and characteristics of displaced populations across Iraq.

DTM data collection techniques include: verification of data reported by a key informants’ network, enhancement of the scope of displacement data collected, and regular field visits to identify IDP locations. These visits were put on hold following a deterioration of the crisis and mass displacements observed between July and August 2014.

This revised methodology has enabled the identification of more than 215,000 additional displaced individuals from the previous DTM round on 29 January, 2015. The majority of these newly identified IDPs are accommodated with host families and in rented accommodation, which made them more difficult to identify.

The main increases were monitored in Baghdad, Kirkuk and Diyala. These governorates are characterized by variations in accessibility that affects the capacity to provide stable monitoring and tracking coverage of the displacement scenario.

The DTM group assessment collects further data on age and sex breakdown, displacement movement patterns, return intentions and priority needs of displaced populations. Through this integrated assessment approach, more than 1,630 displaced groups representing over a million IDPs have thus far been surveyed.

The majority of respondents in all regions reported a desire to return to their place of origin (88 per cent), a minority of respondents are waiting on one or more factors until they decide (11 per cent). Only 1 per cent of respondents said that they are willing to locally integrate in their area of displacement.

A preliminary analysis of priority needs indicates financial aid and access to income (21 per cent) as the most urgent need, followed by shelter and housing (20 per cent), food (16 per cent) and non-food relief items (NFIs) (16 per cent).

DTM figures are collected by IOM’s Rapid Assessment and Response Teams (RART). To support the revised DTM methodology, since early January IOM has expanded RART field capacity from 81 to 137 staff throughout Iraq’s 18 governorates. This increases the DTM’s monitoring and tracking capacity to verify displacement data reported by key informants, who include community leaders, local authorities, and security forces. Additional information is gathered from government registration data and partner agencies.

IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss said: “We appreciate the collaboration of key informants, and welcome new RART staff to expand our field-data collection abilities. Accurate displacement figures are essential to inform humanitarian response. IOM is committed to provide continued assistance to the Government of Iraq in its efforts to assist displaced people.”

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 more information please contact:

Laura Nistri

IOM Iraq

Tel. +964 751 234 2549

Email: lnistri@iom.int

Or

Sandra Black

IOM Iraq

Tel. +964 751 234 2550

Email: sblack@iom.int