WFP Iraq Country Brief, February 2023

In Numbers

174,114 people assisted in February 2023

US$ 2.35 million cash-based transfers made

US$ 20.8 million six months (March-August 2023) net funding requirements

Operational Updates

• In February, WFP provided cash assistance to more than 135,000 IDPs and over 38,000 refugees through its crisis response programme. Additionally, WFP provided 310 Immediate Ration Response kits to 161 families transferring from Al-Hol camp to Jadaa1 camp and 12 IRR kits to six additional families in Duhok affected by a fire incident in camp.

• Under the economic empowerment portfolio, WFP is supporting more than 5,000 young men and women in 13 governorates with technical vocational training, in-kind support, and market linkages. The training aims to transition breadwinners in Shariya camp in Duhok to be self-reliant through income generation.

Preparations are ongoing for cash transfers and toolkit distributions. WFP is also supporting the technical vocational education and training (TVET) system by introducing training of trainers (TOT) on solar-powered systems and providing necessary equipment. This helps youth gain skills in this blooming sector.

• In the northern governorates of Erbil, Duhok, and Sulaymaniyah, the Jousour programme completed various activities with universities and institutions including online courses, classes, and agreements.

Additionally, twelve alumni have been accepted as online interns at Princeton Company in the United States.

• The implementation of the resilience and climate change projects is moving forward with the ongoing distribution of 200 beehives in the southern governorates as well as the rehabilitation of water infrastructure and construction of a mangrove nursery. Agricultural inputs have also been delivered to diversify rural livelihoods among vulnerable communities. In addition, to improve agriculture and combat desertification in several areas including Salah-Aldin, Anbar, Najaf, Wassit, Diwaniya and Duhok, WFP is distributing modern irrigation equipment, establishing dune fixation sites and implementing water infrastructure rehabilitation and climate-proofing activities. Additionally, farmers are being trained on the use of drought-tolerant seeds.

• Under the social protection portfolio, the registration, verification, and activation process of the public distribution system (PDS) in Najaf governorate is ongoing reaching 84 percent of the Najaf population. The registration team also completed a Social Behaviour and Community Change (SBCC) campaign and planning to conduct an after-action review workshop with the Government.

• WFP finalized the single registry business process re-engineering report with Development Pathways. The report analysed the current social schemes, business processes and proposed key single registry business functions. Key recommendations will be discussed by the Technical Committees gathering the EU-UN Joint Partnership and six Government ministries, before finalizing the single registry design. The school feeding programme has resumed in 13 districts in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and 6 contracted suppliers. Around 480,000 school-age children received daily nutritious meals over four feeding days weekly.