and our programming for the New Year. In early December, after ... India, Pakistan, Egypt and Algeria. .... strategic pr
Fighting Hunger Worldwide
WFP in IRAQ 2015 in Review
The designations employed and the presentation of material in the maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WFP concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers.
2
A message from the Country Director
04
2015 at a glance
06
Emergency Response
08
Programmes
10
Donors and Funding
12
Looking ahead
14 WFP/Mohammed Al Bahbahani
Contents
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A message from the Country Director In 2015, the World Food Programme (WFP) continued to assist food insecure populations in Iraq, making breakthroughs in some of the most unstable parts of the country, including Anbar and Mount Sinjar during the winter snow and rain. We continued to make progress with the consolidation of the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) and our programming for the New Year.
we continued to assist thousands of Syrian refugees sheltering in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) with food vouchers, with plans to transition them from paper voucher to e-vouchers implemented through the corporate electronic beneficiary management and delivery platform – SCOPE.
In early December, after many months of hard work, WFP and its local partner were able to deliver food donated by the Government of Iraq to 70,000 people in the besieged towns of Haditha and Al Baghdadi in Anbar governorate, which had not received humanitarian assistance since April 2015. I was thrilled with this widely acknowledged achievement, and WFP is hoping to continue this successful collaboration with the Government of Iraq in the New Year. Responding to the needs of those who had fled Sinjar, WFP and its local partners were also the first humanitarians in the area, providing in-kind
“We made breakthroughs in assisting food insecure people in some of the most unstable parts of Iraq, including Anbar and Mount Sinjar.” assistance to 17,000 people living on and around Mount Sinjar with winterisation support. Coverage of these activities was supported by a Mission to Sinjar and Anbar to obtain first-hand accounts from beneficiaries of how they are benefiting from WFP food assistance, and how we can serve them better. A pilot school feeding project providing healthy meals for school children in the southern governorate of Thi Qar is another highlight of WFP’s collaboration with the Government of Iraq. This initiative aimed to prevent malnutrition among children and encourage their parents to keep them in school. A daily nutritious meal helps children grow into healthy adults. In addition to assisting internally displaced Iraqis,
4
WFP/Shatha Kando This puts WFP in Iraq at the forefront of the wider shift within the global humanitarian community towards Cash Based Transfers (CBT), providing a more dignified and less costly form of assistance. Thousands of Iraqis continue to be uprooted from their homes, leaving behind their comfortable lives and livelihoods due to ongoing violence. Around 3.3 million people have been internally displaced, while approximately 10 million people across Iraq nearly a third of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance according to the HRP for 2016. Despite generous contributions from the international community, Iraq’s humanitarian needs continue to outpace available resources, which in turn affects the humanitarian community’s capacity to reach all vulnerable people in a consistent manner. In 2016, we aim to continue to reach 1.5 million of Iraq’s displaced population on a monthly basis, bringing them the assistance they need to survive the ongoing conflict. Jane Pearce Representative and Country Director
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2015 at a glance The year 2015 brought with it some significant
assistance.
To
mitigate
achievements for WFP in Iraq, despite challenges
launched its mobile Vulnerability Analysis and
and funding shortfalls. In January, winter brought
Mapping
hardship to tens of thousands of displaced Iraqi
involves calls to key informants in the central
families as temperatures across the
Kurdistan
governorates to collect data that provides regular
Region of Iraq (KRI) dropped below zero. Winter
information on markets and trade in areas where
weather in the central and southern regions
WFP does not have an operational presence. This
brought wind, rain, and flooding. About one-third
has offered the humanitarian community valuable
of all internally displaced people (IDPs) in Iraq
food security data on conflict-affected populations
were living in substandard housing, unfinished or
in ISIL-held or besieged areas.
(mVAM)
the
approach,
an
situation,
WFP
initiative
that
abandoned buildings, makeshift collective centres such as schools and mosques, or spontaneous
To further WFP’s capacities to better reach people
settlements. WFP’s winterisation response involved
in need, the Logistics Unit expanded its hub in
a scale-up of food assistance to over 1.2 million
Dohuk and Erbil while establishing a new hub in
people with family food rations (FFRs), immediate
Baghdad as a basis to dispatch food assistance to
response rations (IRRs), and vouchers for over
all
400,000 people in the north. The voucher-scheme
Procurement
helped
to
boost
the
local
economy
areas
within
Iraq.
Unit,
Together
Logistics
with
the
assessed
the
while
packaging of food rations and decided to switch
empowering people with greater choice over their
from cartons to bulk food deliveries to improve the
diets. In 2015, vouchers distributed to IDPs
efficiency of FFRs.
injected US$62 million into Iraq’s economy. By early April, WFP along with two other UN Despite a very difficult security situation on the
agencies, entered the town of Al Baghdadi in
ground, WFP continued to respond effectively and
Anbar. The conflict had led to militants besieging
efficiently to the mounting needs of millions of
the town for six months, leaving thousands of
IDPs across the country. Starting in March, WFP
residents with very limited access to food, clean
began reaching 1.8 million people per month
water and medicine. Working with its cooperating
across Iraq’s 18 governorates using all three
partner,
modalities.
Organisation (ISHO), WFP distributed IRRs to
the
Iraqi
Salvation
Humanitarian
21,000 people. Even before reaching Al Baghdadi WFP’s total procurement of food in 2015 was US $40.7 million, US $8.5 million of which were used to purchase food locally in Iraq, thereby stimulating the local economy. Other countries WFP relied on for food purchases were Turkey, India, Pakistan, Egypt and Algeria.
was possible, WFP provided much-needed food assistance to 30,000 individuals who were airlifted by Iraqi forces from Al-Baghdadi and transported to Baghdad to stay with family and relatives. Another breakthrough in Anbar came in December following months of discussion and planning with
Breakthrough in central governorates
the Government of Iraq’s Ministry of Trade, as well as the vital support of Iraq’s Prime Minister and
6
Access constraints due to the intensification of
the
fighting between Iraqi Security Forces, Shiite
(JCMC). WFP distributed life-saving food assistance
Joint
Coordination and
Monitoring
Center
groups and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
to nearly 70,000 people in besieged cities in
(ISIL) in parts of the central governorates of
Haditha and Al-Baghdadi, both in Anbar. The
Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, and Ninewa resulted in
Ministry of Trade provided 1,050 metric tons of
sporadic deliveries of food assistance. While WFP
wheat flour, rice, sugar and vegetable oil to help
local staff had to relocate from highly volatile
cover the food needs of the affected families for
areas, security teams were dispatched to assess
one month, while USAID covered the twinning
the situation to pave the way for the resumption of
costs of transportation.
Monitoring ongoing displacements WFP and international and local partners continued to strengthen collaboration in an effort to widen the areas of operation and reach the largest possible number of vulnerable people, including 1.3 million people in need residing in areas controlled by ISIL and affiliated armed groups. implementation,
discreet
oversight,
and
remote
management
was
A combination of direct
adopted
whenever
feasible.
Humanitarian partners also enhanced their collaboration with the private and other non-traditional sectors to boost the response.
Facts and figures Number of people who received Emergency relief in 2015
1,963,097
Number of food vouchers distributed
3,458,335
Amount of money injected in local economy
US$62,006,490
Number of governorates reached
18
Total metric tons of food distributed
95,605 mt 7
Emergency Response The
Iraq
in Iraq. But in light of funding constraints, WFP
addresses WFP’s Strategic Objective 1: “to save
emergency
response
had to scale back its operation in April 2015, and
lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies”. It
subsequently aimed to assist 1.5 million IDPs
does so by addressing the urgent food needs of
monthly through FFRs, IRRs, and food vouchers.
vulnerable women, men, girls and boys, assisting
Around
communities
to
operation
strengthen
their
in
105,000
Syrian
refugees
have
been
coping
assisted over the course of last year with family
mechanisms, and safeguarding the food security of
food rations and vouchers that have injected over
vulnerable groups.
US$14 million into Iraq’s local economy.
Targeting the most vulnerable In 2015, WFP’s emergency response priorities continued to be assisting IDPs and the most food insecure people living in areas affected by conflict, while targeting critical assistance to vulnerable IDPs
situated
in
northern
and
southern
governorates. WFP began conducting assessments alongside the Government of Iraq and cooperating partners to undertake needs-based targeting. The overall aim is to move towards complementary Despite Iraq’s middle income status and notable development
gains,
relentless
violence
and
regional instability have contributed to high levels of humanitarian need and food insecurity. Iraq’s
rations
for
households
that
receive
food
entitlements from the PDS, followed by a transition towards food assistance for only those households that are most vulnerable to food insecurity.
poor agricultural production has been stymied by the conflict. The Grain Board of Iraq continues to import large quantities of wheat to meet Public Distribution System (PDS) requirements. Imported wheat is blended with locally produced wheat to improve the quality of the flour. Due to the escalation of conflict and resulting waves of displacement, the PDS has been irregular and unable to provide the Iraqi population with rations in a timely and effective manner. WFP launched its emergency response operation in April 2014 to respond to the needs of 240,000 Iraqis
displaced
violence
from
between
government
forces.
Anbar
extremist In
2015,
governorate
by
militants
and
alongside
the
escalation of conflict particularly in the central governorates,
WFP
continued
to
assist
food
insecure Iraqis affected by the conflict across all 18 governorates, as well as Syrian refugees living
8
Because
of
dwindling
funds
and
to
extend
resources further, WFP had to reduce the size of the rations it provided to IDPs living in and outside of camps, except for IDPs within the high-priority governorate of Anbar who continued to receive full rations.
All
other
IDPs
received
limited
commodities including wheat flour, rice, pulses, vegetable oil, sugar, salt and bulgur. Moreover,
the value of the voucher was reduced from US$26 to US$16 per person per month from April until August, after which it was further reduced to US$10 dollars per person per month. Cooperation
with
the
Ministry
of
Trade,
the
of local wheat flour through the PDS enabled WFP to suspend wheat flour distributions in Duhok governorate since September. This needs-based allowed
WFP
to
stretch
its
limited
resources further to reach the most vulnerable displaced
families.
Comprehensive Assessment
Food
(CFSVA)
WFP
will
Security to
&
better
The
prolonged
fighting
and
ongoing
military
operations in central governorates hindered WFP’s ability to make needs assessments. In Anbar, Iraqi
Kurdistan Regional Government and the availability
targeting
The road to Ramadi
conduct
a
Vulnerability inform
WFP
strategic programming in 2017 and beyond.
Atop Sinjar Mountain
Security Forces
announced the liberation of
Ramadi from ISIL in late December. However WFP and the humanitarian community were unable to enter Ramadi to distribute food assistance due to the insecurity. Instead, WFP and its cooperating partner, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), carried out distributions to families who had been evacuated from Ramadi to the nearby towns of Khalidiya and Habaniya Tourism City, 30km-40km east of Ramadi. Some 330 IRRs were provided to 330 households. WFP continues to monitor the developments closely and is on standby to move into Ramadi as soon as the authorities grant access.
By November 25, after 15 months of occupation under ISIL, Iraqi forces were successfully able to liberate Sinjar. WFP was the first humanitarian agency to send life-saving food assistance through its cooperating partner, the Barzani Charitable Foundation, to 17,000 people who had taken shelter on Mount Sinjar. A mission to Sinjar Mountain was conducted by the Communications and Security teams to document WFP’s vital work in the area.
Syrian Refugees in Iraq In addition to assisting IDPs, WFP continued to assist thousands of Syrian refugees sheltering in the
KRI
with
comprehensive
food food
vouchers. security
and
Following
a
vulnerability
assessment, in August food insecure refugees began receiving US$ 19 each month, and those who are marginally food insecure began receiving US$ 10. WFP plans to transition its caseload from paper through
vouchers the
to
e-vouchers,
corporate
electronic
implemented beneficiary
management and delivery platform—SCOPE. 9
Programmes
School feeding for children
humanitarian
Providing urgent food assistance to vulnerable families in conflict is just one part of WFP’s mandate. WFP in Iraq aims to support long-term development such as the treatment and prevention of malnutrition among school children. Daily school meals are an incentive for families to send their children to school and keep them there. School meals help children to grow into healthy and educated
adults.
Following
a
successful
pilot
project in the southern governorate of Thi Qar during the 2014-2015 academic year, WFP is continuing its cooperation with the Ministries of Health and Education to implement a national school feeding programme.
response
that
caters
to
the
immediate life-saving needs of families fleeing to safety within Iraq. The RRM is the very first line of response that supports people on the move. Distributed within 72 hours of receiving and verifying information on displaced families, the RRM
delivers
a
portable
RRM
kit
through
cooperating partners. The kit consists of dignity raising supplies for a family of seven for seven days. The WFP component consists of IRRs, or ready to eat canned food. It is delivered alongside a hygiene kit, a female dignity kit, and water. Throughout 2015, WFP distributed around 16,000 IRRs every month across Iraq. Since July 2014, the RRM has provided life-saving drinking water, emergency food, non-food items, hygiene and women dignity items to more than 2.5 million
Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM)
displaced people in over 3,000 locations.
Since 2014, and the massive waves of internal displacements caused by ISIL in 2015, WFP – in
Communicating with Communities (CwC)
conjunction with UNICEF, UNFPA, IOM and NGO
CwC is based on the principle that information and
partners – has led the deployment of the Rapid
communication are critical forms of assistance,
Response
without which populations affected by emergencies
10
Mechanism
(RRM),
a
type
of
cannot access services or make the best decisions
which
for themselves and their communities. It also
three radio operators to the inter-agency radio
creates dialogue with people WFP serves, which
room in Erbil, as well as initiating the process to
enhances
deploy
monitoring, impact evaluation, and
included
radio
training
operators
and
to
deployment
Sulaymaniyah
of
and
further programming design. Affected populations
Dohuk, and conducting advanced radio training for
thus
14 radio operators. Internet data services were
become
stakeholders
in
the
assistance
process.
provided to humanitarian workers in Arbat and
Striving to better serve vulnerable and conflict-
Domiz camps in Duhok.
affected families in Iraq, WFP supported the
The Logistics Cluster (LC) oversaw the planning
establishment an IDP call centre in 2015 as part
and coordination of a shipment to its warehouses
of its CwC strategy, which allows IDPs to give WFP
in Baghdad and Erbil of 5,393 mt of relief items
staff members' feedback on the food assistance
from the USAID/OFDA, with the project worth over
they receive. By facilitating and responding to
US$ 75 million. The first truck arrived in Erbil in
IDPs’
its
November of 2015 and the rest of the shipment
accountability towards the people it serves, helping
opinions,
WFP
is
maintaining
continued into early 2016. The LC is responsible
to fulfil their right to live with dignity.
for receipt, storage and dispatch.
The establishment of a national toll-free hotline for populations affected by the conflict in Iraq was a landmark project coordinated and funded by an inter-agency team of UN agencies and NGOs, with WFP providing US$250,000. The hotline provides information
about
assistance,
such
all as
types food
of
humanitarian
distribution
points,
medical services and shelter options, streamlining information provision for consumers, as well as efficiently harmonizing information provision for all agencies. The call centre also registers and refers urgent
needs,
feedback
and
complaints,
and
provides a mechanism through which people in
The Food Security Cluster (FSC), co-led by WFP and FAO, empowered some 36,000 small scale farmers by distributing vegetable seeds, fertilizers and tools to produce 215,000 ton of vegetables, as well as helping another 20,000 farmers with wheat flour
seeds
and
fertilizer
to
boost
wheat
production. The FSC also worked throughout the year to coordinate an effective food response to the emergency, and to protect livelihoods and assets
of
the
most
vulnerable
food
insecure
households, including female-headed households and persons with disabilities.
need or receiving assistance can convey their feedback, suggestions, and concerns about the efficacy of programming.
Clusters In 2015, WFP remained the lead agency for the coordination
of
the
Logistics,
Emergency
Telecommunications, and Food Security Clusters, in order to support the humanitarian community’s ability to reach people in need across the country and save lives. As well as dedicated service provision
in
the
areas
telecommunications,
of
all
logistics
Clusters
and
offered
coordination and information management across the
country
to
reinforce
the
capacity
of
humanitarian partners. The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) maintained and expanded radio services to UN
agencies
and
NGOs
across
the
country,
11
Donors and Funding Amid global funding shortages and competing
Out
humanitarian crises, WFP is grateful for its
requirements for IDPs in 2015, which were
international
US$323,226,011, WFP received
donors
who
contributed
generously to support the people of Iraq. In
of
WFP’s
total
emergency
operation
US $128,201,718.
2015, WFP’s emergency operation assisting IDPs in Iraq was supported by Australia,
Looking ahead, the humanitarian crisis in Iraq
Belgium, Canada, the European Commission,
still requires the support of the international
France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Norway,
community. The UN and partners launched
the
the
Republic
Switzerland,
of the
Korea, UN
Spain,
Central
Sweden,
Emergency
2016
HRP
Humanitarian
as
part
Overview
of
in
the
Global
December
in
Response Fund, the USA, and private sector
Geneva, highlighting the plight of Iraqis as
donations.
funds dwindle and needs increase. The FSC is appealing for US$ 238 million, LC for US$ 2.4
The Special Operation received funding from
million and ETC for US$ 1.5 million. The total
Canada, Japan, Sweden, and the USA.
size of the appeal is US$ 861 million.
% of Funding to Emergency Operation
Top 10 Donors and Multilateral Contributions to the Emergency Operation supporting IDPs (US$)
USA: 27.5 million
Multilateral: 22.7 million
Japan: 14.4 million Australia: 14.3 million Germany: 13.9 million Canada: 12.7 million European Commission: 7.6 million France: 4.1 million Norway: 2.9 million
Belgium: 2.1 million
12
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Looking ahead: 2016 The protracted conflict in Iraq has led to massive waves of displacement across the country with currently over 3.3 million people internally displaced. In turn, the loss of homes, livelihoods, and lack of resources to purchase food has driven 2.4 million conflict-affected people into food insecurity. Going forward, and based on assessments of what can be achieved, WFP aims to reach a maximum of 1.5 million of the most food-insecure Iraqi IDPs throughout the country with in-kind food, vouchers or cash transfers on a monthly basis. To do this efficiently, WFP has begun rolling out its targeting strategy that will enable it to identify and support the most food-insecure people based on a vulnerability criteria that includes female-headed households, the elderly, disabled persons and families with no adults of working age (i.e. between 18-60 years). Transferring the most vulnerable IDPs in urban and peri-urban areas in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), Baghdad, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din, Diyala, Najaf, Kerbala and Basrah from in-kind food assistance to cash transfers, will be a gradual and careful process that will mitigate risks of the misuse of cash. To implement the SCOPE system for the management, delivery, and monitoring of assistance to all IDP beneficiaries throughout Iraq, WFP is establishing a large database of the people it serves using its own beneficiary list and checking it against data from the Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Displacement and Migration, IOM, UNHCR and cooperating partners. The SCOPE database will be used as a common platform enabling WFP and cooperating partners to avoid duplications, identify gaps in assistance, and facilitate assessments and targeting processes. Having one common beneficiary database will ultimately make the humanitarian response in Iraq more cost efficient and responsive to the needs of the affected population. The full implementation of the SCOPE database will enable WFP to maximise the complementarity between WFP assistance and PDS (where and when functioning, even if partially), and to adapt the most appropriate type of transfer for beneficiaries. WFP has been conducting assessments in cooperation with the Government of Iraq and cooperating partners to move towards complementary rations for households that receive food entitlements from the government’s PDS, followed by a transition towards food assistance for only those households that are most vulnerable to food insecurity. This needs-based targeting will continue to allow WFP to stretch its limited resources further to reach the most vulnerable displaced families. WFP has begun coordinating with the Government of Iraq’s Ministry of Planning and Health on conducting a Comprehensive Food Security & Vulnerability Assessment (CFSVA), the first since 2008, to better inform WFP strategic programming in 2017 and beyond. During the process, WFP will also engage with staff from Central Statistics Office (CSO) and Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) to help conduct surveys across Iraq. Results of the CFSVA will contribute to refining targeting and provide all concerned with a better understanding of the impact of the conflict on food security, in particular on food markets in Iraq.
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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.
15
Printed: March 2016 Photo credits: WFP/Mohammed Al Bahbahani
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For more information contact: World Food Programme UN Compound, International Zone, Baghdad, Iraq +964 (0) 780 929 99 62
[email protected] March 2016
