Iraq - Yesterday (21/5) UNDP, UN-Habitat and IOM formally handed over to Dohuk local authorities the communal infrastructure they contributed to the construction of Dawodiya displacement camp. Established in January, the camp now hosts 680 internally displaced families (approximately 4,000 people) originally from Ninewa, Tal-Afar and Sinjar.

IOM and seven UN agencies worked together to construct the camp with funds donated by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Japan and managed by UNOCHA.

IOM and UN-Habitat provided 900 prefabricated units; UNDP set up the electrical network, road network, walk ways and WASH infrastructure; UNICEF and UNESCO provided the primary and secondary schools; UNOPS implemented solar lighting; WHO set up and coordinated health services; and UNHCR managed the distribution of non-food relief items. In addition, IOM provided septic tanks for the 500 prefabricated units it provided and is constructing a security fence around the camp.

Since the outset of the project, UNDP, IOM and UN-Habitat worked with local authorities to equip the camp with basic social infrastructure. UNDP invested in public works projects, including the construction of two boreholes, several and water towers, and the sewerage system.

UNDP later supported social facilities, including the construction of a health clinic, camp administration building and police offices. IOM is also providing psychosocial support activities, including psycho-social consultations, individual and group counselling, and opportunities for sports and recreation. UN-Habitat carried out with the governorate the site selection, preparation, planning, production and implementation of the shelters, while ensuring the coordination of site developments with its partners.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Dohuk Vice-Governor Ismail Mohamad Ahmed recognized the contributions of IOM, UNDP and UN-Habitat in bringing Dawodiya camp to handover status. “We would like to thank these agencies for their good coordination and we thank the Dohuk Governorate Bureau of Relief and Humanitarian Affairs for their cooperation to establish this camp. We will do our best to support the people living here to make their stay as comfortable as possible, until they are able to go back to their homes,” he said.

Sultan Hajiyev, UNDP Deputy Country Director, said: “We are honoured and proud to hand over the camp’s social infrastructure to the local authorities following a very fruitful partnership between the United Nations and the Governorate of Dohuk. We are very pleased to see that Dawodiya camp offers dignity, better protection from the elements and good sanitary conditions for hundreds of vulnerable families.”

Yuko Otsuki, UN-Habitat Deputy Head of Iraq Programme and Head of Kurdistan Region of Iraq Office, said: “The prefabricated shelters unit installed not only provide improved physical protection and better shelter from the weather, but they also preserve the dignity and privacy of their inhabitants and promote better opportunities for their future.” UN-Habitat, with funding from the Japanese Government, is working on constructing another 1,700 prefabricated shelter units at sites in Baghdad, Karballa and Dohuk.

IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss said: “The construction of Dawodiya camp was a collaborative effort with our partners and the Dohuk authorities to address critical, life-saving shelter needs for displaced Iraqis. According to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix there are approximately 760,000 displaced Iraqis still living in critical shelter arrangements across the country, including unfinished buildings, religious buildings and informal settlements. We look forward to continuing to work with the government and humanitarian partners to meet the massive need for adequate shelter for displaced people throughout Iraq.”

For more information, please contact Sandra Black, Email: sblack@iom.int, Tel. +964 751 234 2550; Shawqi Younis, Email: shawqi.younis@undp.org, Tel. +964 750 468 7661; Mizuho Yokoi, Email: mizuho.yokoi@undp.org, Tel. +964 750 236 6980; or Timothy Mewmaw, Email: timothy.mewmaw@unhabitat.org, Tel. +964 750 366 9587.