Iraq - With security in Iraq continuing to deteriorate,  IOM field teams have delivered emergency assistance and are gathering information on the needs and locations of large numbers of displaced people. Because of the ongoing fighting, the teams are unable to reach some areas of the governorates of Ninewa, Salah al-Din, Baghdad and Diyala, epicenters of the violence in the country.

IOM has mapped and identified the needs of 375,354 newly displaced people in 390 locations in Iraq during June alone and distributed non-food items to 17,340 people located in the governorates of Ninewa, Erbil and Sulaymaniah.

The most pressing needs of the displaced are for essential items such as clothes, coolers and household items, including basic furniture, followed by food, shelter and health care for children.

Despite major disruption caused by ongoing security threats, IOM is also coordinating with several embassies to assist in the evacuation of third-country nationals stranded inside Iraq. IOM is currently facilitating the evacuation of seven Nepalese nationals in Kirkuk.

IOM’s main focus is gathering and verifying information on the location and needs of the displaced in order to inform the ongoing humanitarian response.

“Fighting and hundreds of road blocks are preventing us from reaching the majority of the displaced and from them reaching us to receive aid,” said Lado Gvilava, IOM Programme and Logistic Coordinator in Iraq.

Access is almost impossible in the governorates of Diyala, Salah al-Din, Kirkuk, Ninewa as well as in Bagdad, except for some districts. Insecurity is also preventing IOM Rapid Assessment and Respond Teams in the field from reaching all the displaced people by the recent fighting.

“Dangerous security conditions and subsequent lack of access to wide areas means that we cannot get to locations which we know have received displaced populations,” said Vlatko Avramovski, IOM Human Mobility Tracking Expert. ”Not only are movements and access to certain locations restricted, but internet and mobile phone services are often unavailable and communication with key informants difficult.”

IOM’s  Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), is used to collect and share updated information on the type of shelter and access to basic services of the displaced people to all the humanitarian agencies in Iraq to help them plan their responses.

The data collected by IOM shows that the most pressing priority for the displaced is non-food items, followed closely by food items. Eighty-six per cent of the population identified is in need of essential items such as clothes, coolers and household items, including basic furniture, and 73 per cent of the population requires food support. Needs for shelter and health care for children are also among the top priorities.

“Due to the forced nature of their displacement, most left behind the majority of their household items. In the governorate of Ninewa, where the majority of the people were displaced, 55 per cent of families have reported not having access to food at all,” said Avramovski.

The non-food kits IOM has managed to distribute so far contain four blankets, four mattresses, four pillows, one carpet, cleaning powder, a four-burner gas cooker, a fan, a four-drawer plastic cupboard, four towels and other sanitary items. “This is enough to sustain a displaced family during the initial stages of a crisis,” said Gvilava.

“Twenty days ago, my house was completely destroyed. All I have today is what IOM has given us. I am almost 50 and for most of my life, all we have had here has been war. I would like to go back to my city and rebuild my home, but I am afraid that we will not have peace for long time,” said Faisal, who fled Salah Al-Din to the Khazir Transit camp with his 14 children.

IOM data reveals that the majority of the displaced have found refuge in their governorate of origin.  Ninewa, Salah al-Din and Diyala host no displaced people identified as having displaced from other governorates. Eighty-three per cent of the displaced people in Ninewa have chosen to stay in their governorate.

The vast majority (53 per cent) of those displaced are from the governorate of Ninewa while 40 per cent of displaced are from the governorate of Salah al-Din, 3 per cent from Diyala and the rest from Baghdad, Babylon and Kirkuk.

Families fleeing across governorate borders went mostly in the northern governorates of the Kurdish Region of Iraq (Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dahuk), resulting in very few families remaining in the south of the country.

For the complete IOM report dated 2 July 2014, please go to: http://iomiraq.net/dtm-page

For more information, please contact

Lado Gvilava
Email: lgvilava@iom.int

or

Vlako Avramoski
Email: vavramovski@iom.int
IOM Iraq