Third of Iraqis "need urgent emergency aid" by Refugees International / IOM 3:10pm 26th Jul, 2007   30 July 2007    Third of Iraqis "need urgent aid". (BBC News)    Nearly a third of the population of Iraq is in need of immediate emergency aid, according to a new report from Oxfam and a coalition of Iraqi NGOs.    The report said the Iraqi government was failing to provide basic essentials such as water, sanitation, food, and shelter to up to eight million people. It warned the continuing violence was masking a humanitarian crisis that had grown worse since the invasion in 2003. It also found that four million Iraqis had been uprooted by the violence.    More than two million people have been displaced inside the country, while a further two million have fled to neighbouring countries, according to the report. On Thursday, an international conference in Jordan pledged to help the refugees with their difficulties.    The BBC"s Nicholas Witchell in Baghdad says the report by the UK-based charity and the NGO Co-ordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI) makes alarming reading.    The survey recognises that armed conflict is the greatest problem facing Iraqis, but finds a population "increasingly threatened by disease and malnutrition".    It suggests that 70% of Iraq"s 26.5m population are without adequate water supplies, compared to 50% percent prior to the invasion. Only 20% have access to effective sanitation.    Nearly 30% of children are malnourished, a sharp increase on the situation four years ago. Some 15% of Iraqis regularly cannot afford to eat. The report also said 92% of Iraq"s children suffered from learning problems.    Alarming humanitarian crisis    "Basic services, ruined by years of war and sanctions, cannot meet the needs of the Iraqi people," the director of Oxfam International, Jeremy Hobbs, said. "Millions of Iraqis have been forced to flee the violence, either to another part of Iraq or abroad. Many of those are living in dire poverty."    Mr Hobbs said that despite the violence, the Iraqi government and the international community could do more to meet people"s needs.    "The Iraqi government must commit to helping Iraq"s poorest citizens, including the internally displaced, by extending food parcel distribution and cash payments to the vulnerable," he said. "Western donors must work through Iraqi and international aid organisations and develop more flexible systems to ensure these organisations operate effectively and efficiently."    25 Jul 2007    36 groups call for direct bilateral funding to countries hosting Iraqi refugees. (Refugees International)    In anticipation of the conference on Iraqi refugees held in Amman, Jordan on July 26, Refugees International and a consortium of 36 international advocacy and humanitarian aid organizations sent a letter today urging governments to dramatically increase bilateral assistance to countries hosting Iraqi refugees. The consortium welcomed the Government of Iraq"s initiative to convene the regional meeting on the topic and expressed hope that the conference would result in greater resources for Iraqi refugees.    The letter signed by Refugees International, the International Rescue Committee, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Lebanese group Frontiers, and others expresses "urgent concern about the magnitude of the humanitarian and refugee crisis involving Iraqi refugees and the dangerous lack of adequate resources provided by the international community to countries hosting Iraqi refugees... Without decisive leadership, the health and lives of thousands of refugees and the stability of the region are at risk."    The conference will host officials from Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, and dignitaries from the United Nations to discuss ways to respond to the Iraqi refugee crisis. Currently, there are 2.2 million refugees and 2 million internally displaced Iraqis inside Iraq – all struggling to find food, housing, health care and education for their children. UNHCR has requested $123 million to work with Iraqis in the region, which roughly amounts to a mere $22 per refugee, per year. Minimal bilateral funding has been given to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon or other countries hosting Iraqis. In addition, the Government of Iraqi has pledged $25 million to the region in April, but the funding has yet to be provided.    "The massive influx of refugees poses serious security problems. The international community must act aggressively to stabilize the region and improve security by providing sufficient resources to protect the health and safety of Iraqi refugees," said Refugees International Advocate Kristele Younes.    "We"ve all signed on to this letter in the hope of convincing governments that increased bilateral aid is the best solution for responding to the Iraqi refugee crisis. We would also like to see the Iraqi government provide substantial assistance for the region. "    17 July 2007    Iraq is experiencing the worst human displacement of its history. (International Organization for Migration - IOM)    Iraq is experiencing the worst human displacement of its history, with almost 2.2 million persons displaced within its borders and an additional two million who have fled the country to the surrounding region. This mass displacement is fast becoming a regional and ultimately international crisis.    Iraq has a protracted history of displacement, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced over the past four decades by war and the policies carried out by the former regime. After the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein, population displacements primarily occurred due to military operations, crime, and general insecurity. Between 2003 and 2005, many of the displaced were moving temporarily to avoid war zones.    However, on 22 February 2006, the bombing of the Samarra Al-Askari Mosque triggered escalating sectarian violence that drastically changed the dynamics of Iraqi displacement. Since then, populations have primarily fled violence targeting their religious and ethnic identities, in addition to generalized crime and continued military offensives. The scale of displacement also changed: between 2003 and the end of 2005, 402,000 persons were displaced; since February 2006, almost one million additional persons have been displaced. An average of 60,000 people have been displaced per month in 2007.    Displacement due to sectarian violence generally saw Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) moving from religious and ethnically mixed communities to homogenous ones. Shias tended to move from the center to the south, while Sunnis tended to move from the south to the uppercenter, especially to Anbar. In large cities like Baghdad and Baquba, both Sunnis and Shias were displaced within the city to homogenous neighborhoods. Christians primarily fled to Ninewa and the northern three governorates, and Kurds were usually displaced within Diyala and Kirkuk and to the northern three governorates.    However, displacement is not limited to sectarian violence; many IDPs are fleeing their homes due to lawlessness experienced throughout the country that is creating an environment of fear in which criminals, militia, and insurgents thrive. In addition, humanitarian agencies are finding it difficult, if not impossible, to provide assistance to those most in need.    These large movements of people will have long-lasting political, social, and economic impacts in Iraq, and the increasingly protracted nature of displacement in the past year and a half may well be entrenching communal divisions. The stability that was anticipated as a result of various security plans has not materialized, and as the violence continues in Iraq, so will the displacement. Visit the related web page
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