Iraq
1.1 Iraq Humanitarian Background
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Disasters, Conflicts and Migration

Natural Disasters

Type

Occurs

Comments / Details

Drought

Yes

Diminished rainfall and restricted releases of water from upstream reservoirs along Tigris and Euphrates caused extensive harm to Iraq’s irrigated grain crops, more information available at Iraq: Drought - Aug 2021 | ReliefWeb

Earthquakes

Yes

Iraq's territory doesn't locate directly on a dense group of earthquake epicentres, but the geo-dynamic configurations show a medium to high seismic risk.

Epidemics

Yes

More information available at WHO/EMRO

Extreme Temperatures

Yes

Iraq's extreme heat hazard is classified as high based on modelled heat information.

Flooding

Yes

Cold winters, sometimes accompanied by heavy snowfall, which melts in early spring, and heavy rains can cause rivers to flood in some parts of Iraq.

Insect Infestation

No

N/A

Mudslides

No

N/A

Volcanic Eruptions

No

N/A

High Waves / Surges

No

N/A

Wildfires

No

N/A

High Winds

No

N/A

Other Comments

N/A

Man-Made Issues

Civil Strife

No

N/A

International Conflict

No

N/A

Internally Displaced Persons

Yes

270,392 more information available at Iraq | Global Focus (unhcr.org)

Refugees Present

Yes

1,224,108 more information available at Iraq | Global Focus (unhcr.org)

Landmines / UXO Present

Yes

The possibilities of UXO on Iraq-Iran border, Iraq-Turkey border, and the areas liberated from ISIS control.

Other Comments

N/A


For a more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters - Iraq.

Seasonal Effects on Logistics Capacities

Seasonal Effects on Transport

Transport Type

Time Frame

Comments / Details

Primary Road Transport

Yes

Mosul Bridge and Fishkabor Bridge is affected during rainy season and floods.

Secondary Road Transport

No

N/A

Rail Transport

No

N/A

Air Transport

Yes

During election all airport operations are suspended.

Waterway Transport

No

N/A

The Iraq climate even though it can reach very high temperatures in summer and below zero degrees in winter, with some snow, particularly in the northern parts, doesn't affect transport. There are minimal difficulties in secondary road transport during snowy days.

Seasonal Effects on Storage and Handling

Activity Type

Time Frame

Comments / Details

Storage

June - September

Summer months high temperatures might affect storage by deteriorating non-heat resistant and perishable goods.

Handling

N/A

During COVID-19 pandemic and curfew

Other

N/A

N/A


Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response

Government

The movement of humanitarian cargos in the central and southern regions of Iraq (FI) needs the approval of the National Operations Center (NOC). While in the KRI region, the movement of humanitarian cargo needs the JCC letter and approval. The approval process in both regions (FI and KRI) is initiated by an official request/letter from the requesting agencies.

Movement Facilitation Request in FI

For requesting movement facilitation, UN agencies need to submit a request letter (in English and Arabic) along with other requirements/documents to NOC directly, through authorized focal point, for any inter-governmental movement by contracted transportation company. Below are additional instructions and requirements for obtaining NOC letter. The time expected to obtain the NOC letter is 3-10 days.

Instructions related to the facilitation of movement for humanitarian shipments / Contracted trucks


Movement Facilitation Request in KRI

Movement of humanitarian cargos in KRI requires the approval of Joint Crisis Coordination Center (JCC) and other relevant security entities. Request for movement facilitation in Kurdish needs to be submitted to JCC along with documents related to the shipment, including the origin, destination, route, driver and trucks information, etc. Request letter and related/required documents need to be submitted to JCC HQ in Erbil.

Shipments headed outside of KRI governorate, including shipments coming from the Ibrahim Khalil border route to other governorates, require the JCC’s approval for movement, as well as a tax exemption letter for humanitarian commodities from the Ministry of Finance.


Cross Regional Movement (FI and KRI)

Humanitarian cargos moving from one region to another (from FI to KRI or vice versa) will require valid NOC and JCC letters.


Following are some of the government entities that participate actively during disaster response:

Ministry of Defense - Directorate of Military Affairs for Civilian Purposes:

Under the oversight of the Ministry of Defense, the Directorate of Military Affairs for Civilian Purposes plays a major role during disaster response phase support the civilians and humanitarian community by provided floating bridges and evacuation, and other support. 


Ministry of Interior - Civil Defense

It is a security and emergency services agency in Iraq, consisting of Iraqis who do everything to complement the operations of the military forces in Iraq to stand up to organized teams and individuals, they also play a major role during crises and disasters such as fires, floods, earthquakes, etc. 


Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS)

An active and independent national humanitarian organization aiming to reduce the suffering of vulnerable community. The head quarter of IRCS is located in Baghdad with branches in every governorate.

https://ircs.org.iq/en/home-6/


Joint Coordination and Monitoring Center (JCMC)

Under the oversight of the General Secretariat for the Council of Ministers, JCMC, as government coordination body that established in 2014, plays a prominent role coordinating crisis response efforts. JCMC is also responsible for preparedness recovery, and risk analysis and management in the Federal Iraq (FI) region. JCMC has representatives in all the central and southern governorates.

https://jcmc.gov.iq/en/


Joint Crisis Coordination Center (JCC)

JCC was established in 2015 under the oversight of the Minister of Interior. The JCC Crisis Response and Management Network consists of the JCC Council located in Erbil, and the Disaster and Migration Crisis Response Responses (DMCR) Offices in KRI Governorates, namely: Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Duhok. The DMCR offices at the governorates are administratively under the governorates and technically under JCC.

JCC, in cooperation with security authorities, is responsible for processing and granting movement facilitation letter for humanitarian cargos moving to/from KRI region. JCC is also playing a coordination role during disaster response, recovery and preparedness phases. JCC offices (DMCR) have logistics centres (that contain storage space) in KRI governorates that can also be used for the humanitarian community.

https://jcckrg.org/


For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Government Contact List.

Humanitarian Community

There are approximately 102 humanitarian actors engaged in the humanitarian relief effort in Iraq, the main actors are: UNHCR, IOM, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, UNDP, UN-HABITAT, UNFPA, UNESCO, and their implementing partners, which consist of over 70 cooperating partners of INGOs and NGOs, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and UNOCHA (as coordination body of humanitarian operations with representation at the national and regional levels.

Ongoing programmers and projects:

  • 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan to assist 1.5 million of the most vulnerable internally displaced people in Iraq and returnees Iraq | HumanitarianResponse.
  • Supporting COVID-19 outbreak response and vaccination effort of the Iraqi Government
  • Boosting the stability and socio-economic development of the country by enhancing democratic governance at the local level.
  • Improving the resilience of host communities, IDPs, returnees with focus on several areas: protection, health, water & Sanitation, food security, emergency livelihood, and education.

WFP operations: Currently, the World Food Program implements the following programs in Iraq (Crisis response, Resilience-building, social protection, School feeding, and COVID-19 response). The response of WFP to the humanitarian needs and the support to the vulnerable community is formulated in different modalities, such as, Immediate Response Rations (IRR) distribution, Family Food Rations (FFR), Cash-Based-Transfer (CBT) through: Voucher, Direct Cash, and Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) in additional to the emergency, preparedness, and response program and School Feeding meals project.

WFP Sub offices: Baghdad, Erbil, Basra, Dohuk, and Sulaymaniyah.

Cooperating partners: In 2021 WFP partnered with 13 Cooperating Partners from national and international organizations: Marcy Hands, World Vision International, UOS, RIRP, MFD, SWEDO, SP, WHH, PIN, REACH-IRAQ, OROKOM, HRF, and CCR).


Potential calamities:

Man Made: IDPs, Refugees, and Landmines/UXO.

Natural: Drought, Earthquakes, Epidemics, Extreme Temperatures, and Flooding.


Types of food consumed:

Meat and poultry

Dairy products and their derivatives: such as (milk, cheese, etc.).

Fruits: such as (dates, bananas, apples).

Dried foods: such as (apricots, raisins).

Legumes: such as (beans, peas, chickpeas).

Grains: such as (rice, bulgur, lentil).

Ground foods: such as (wheat flour).

Cooking oils.

Sugar (white).

Salt (regular).

Tea.


Food stocking: Ministry of Trade (MoT) is considered one of the biggest food distribution entities in the country that stocks essential food items. MoT is managing the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Iraq and has storage spaces and millings scattered around the country.


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