Iraq - IOM yesterday welcomed a US$1 million contribution from Kuwait to support its humanitarian work with thousands of people fleeing conflict in Iraq.

The donation is part of a US$10 million contribution to IOM, UNHCR, WFP, WHO, UNICEF, the Kuwait Red Crescent and the International Islamic Charity Organization to help the victims of the conflict in Iraq, where the latest upsurge in violence has affected some 1.5 million people.

The contribution highlights Kuwait’s role as a major humanitarian donor in the region, under the leadership of the Emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah. The Gulf State previously hosted and contributed generously to two major pledging conferences in January 2013 and January 2014 to alleviate the suffering of millions affected by the civil war in Syria.

Accepting the donation in Geneva yesterday, IOM Deputy Director General Laura Thompson expressed IOM’s gratitude. “Kuwait’s generosity in providing humanitarian support to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people has been exemplary. This contribution to now help Iraqis affected by the resurgence of conflict is further testimony to the generosity of His Highness the Emir and the Kuwaiti people,” she said.

An estimated 1.2 million Iraqis have been internally displaced since the beginning of the year, with many fleeing to the relative safety of the country’s Kurdish region. Thousands of families nationwide are in urgent need of water, food, shelter, healthcare, sanitation and protection from violence. 

IOM plays a key role in tracking displacement and identifying the needs of displaced people through rapid assessment and response teams, which contribute to a displacement tracking matrix designed to inform humanitarian agencies and government counterparts.

It also plays an important role in the procurement and distribution of shelter and non-food relief items, and the distribution of food and other aid on behalf of other agencies to displaced people living in displacement sites or in local communities. To date, IOM has distributed relief packages to over 25,000 people forced to flee their homes.

The Kuwaiti donation will help IOM to expand its programming over the next six months, to continue to monitor displacement and to continue to provide relief that addresses the most urgent needs of displaced families across Iraq. 

For more information please contact

Susan Megy
IOM Iraq
Email: smegy@iom.int
Skype: susanjmegy