UNICEF Iraq Humanitarian Situation Report No. 1

Highlights

• The 2021 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) for Iraq identified 4.1 million people in need of at least one form of humanitarian assistance. Of these people, 28 per cent are women, 44 per cent are children and 15 per cent are persons with disabilities.

• For 2021, UNICEF requested $ 70.8 million to meet the critical and acute humanitarian needs of children and families affected by a combination of humanitarian situations, including protracted crisis due to conflict, political instability and the COVID-19 pandemic.

• During the first quarter of 2021, only $ 3.1 million were received against UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children (HAC) appeal in Iraq while $ 8.2 million were carried over from 2020. UNICEF’s response to emergency-affected people in Iraq during the first quarter of 2021 was thus 84 per cent underfunded, with a total funding gap of $ 59.3 million.

• Without support from donors and partners, key programmes for vulnerable emergency-affected people will be compromised. The delivery of essential services, such as safe drinking water and sanitation, psychosocial support and other child protection support as well as GBV prevention and response, will be seriously impaired if the above-mentioned funding gaps are not addressed timely