WFP Iraq Country Brief, May 2021

In Numbers

265,725 people assisted in May 2021

US$2.71 million distributed through cash-based transfers

US$36.1 million six months net funding requirements (June – November 2021)

Operational Updates

• In May, WFP provided cash and food assistance to 189,092 IDPs and 69,523 refugees, and 4,838 returnees and people from vulnerable communities through resilience building initiatives.
• The national COVID-19 vaccination campaign, begun by the Ministry of Health in late March, is ongoing. Although new COVID-19 cases continue to be diagnosed, there has been a decrease in the number of daily cases in May, marking a decline since the peak of the second wave in late April. Some protests continue across Iraq, linked to demands for better services, but so far have not been linked to any rise in infections. WFP and its partners continue to take all health and safety precautionary measures during activities.
• On 4 June, a fire broke out in Sharya camp in Duhok, burning down 370 tents. The cause was reportedly an electrical fault. The Ministry of Migration and Displacement (MoMD) has provided IQD 500,000 (USD 340) per family affected. On 7 June, WFP began distributing its monthly cash assistance to families in Sharya (nearly 13,000 people assisted monthly by WFP). WHO and partners distributed masks and sanitizers, and put in place a medical team to provide equipment, supplies and treatment to those affected. Other partners worked to provide temporary shelter in tents, while concrete shelters were being built for the families. Air coolers, blankets, stoves, water tanks and mattresses have also been distributed to the families by local authorities.
• In Sulaymaniyah, WFP is providing ready-to-eat food packages (Immediate Response Rations, IRRs) to assist families whose members contracted COVID-19 and have been placed in isolation sites in IDP camps.
• WFP continued the final preparatory visits and assessments in camps for the new ‘fresh food project,’ whereby WFP will build capacity and link retailers with lower-cost opportunities to source directly from farmers, offer better variety and prices for fresh food to people assisted.
• WFP conducted a training on Joint Logistics Information Exchange, with the Joint Crisis and Monitoring Centre (JCMC) in Baghdad. An advanced level session is planned, towards enhanced coordination on Emergency Preparedness.