HIGHLIGHTS
USG announces nearly $62 million in additional humanitarian assistance to aid conflict-affected populations in Iraq and displaced Iraqis in the region
The UN reports program closures due to funding shortages; the 2015 Iraq Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) has received only 20 percent of its funding requirements to date
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
-At the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Qatar on August 3, U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced nearly $62 million in additional USG humanitarian funding to assist conflict-affected Iraqis. The additional funding brings the USG’s total humanitarian assistance to Iraqis in the region to more than $477 million since the start of FY 2014.
The newly announced funding will support IOM, UNHCR, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and other international and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to provide emergency relief commodities, medical care, protection activities, and other humanitarian aid to vulnerable civilians inside Iraq and Iraqi refugees in the region. The USG funding will also offer assistance to host communities throughout the region, which are coping with the strain of accommodating displaced populations.
In late July, the UN reported that funding shortages had resulted in the suspension of more than 180 frontline health programs across Iraq, underscoring that 80 percent of humanitarian health programs are now closed, directly impacting 1 million people. The UN also reported the suspension of approximately 30 percent of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programming in Iraq due to funding shortfalls, which affects approximately 1.8 million people. To date, the 2015 Iraq HRP, an appeal released in early June that outlines priority assistance needs in Iraq between July and December 2015, has received only 20 percent of nearly $498 million in funding requirements.