HIGHLIGHTS
GoI, humanitarian partners continue to respond to cholera outbreak  UN requests $861 million to address Iraq humanitarian needs in 2016
USG partner WFP reaches besieged cities in Anbar Governorate with emergency food assistance
USG provides nearly $70 million in additional aid, including winter- appropriate and other relief items
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
The Iraq Cholera Task Force—led by the Government of Iraq (GoI)—released a situation report on the countrywide cholera outbreak on December 3 that affirmed a consistent downward trend in the number of confirmed cholera cases. Since the outbreak began in mid-September, the GoI and its humanitarian partners have coordinated outbreak control activities, including an oral cholera vaccination campaign.
The UN released its 2016 Global Humanitarian Overview, a consolidated funding appeal covering humanitarian crises worldwide, on December 7. The overview includes a request for $861 million to support the most critical humanitarian assistance for an estimated 7.3 million out of 11 million people in need in Iraq.
On December 1, with USAID/FFP support, the UN World Food Program (WFP) distributed emergency food assistance to nearly 70,000 people in the cities of Haditha and Al Baghdadi, Anbar Governorate, which have been under siege by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces since March 2015. The siege has severely impaired access and exacerbated humanitarian needs in the two cities, according to relief agencies.
In recent months, the USG has contributed nearly $70 million in additional humanitarian assistance for conflict-affected Iraqis. The support provides seasonally appropriate items, such as winter clothing for approximately 550,000 children, to help affected populations prepare for the winter months. The assistance also includes hygiene kits, water storage containers, and solar lights for displaced and other vulnerable populations in Iraq. In addition, ongoing USG funding continues to provide other critical, life-saving assistance to the nearly 3.2 million people displaced inside Iraq, as well as Iraqis who have fled to neighboring countries.