WFP Iraq Country Brief, March 2022
In Numbers
- 710,492 people assisted in March 2022
- US$ 2.25 million distributed in March 2022 through cash-based transfers
- 1,686 mt of in-kind assistance distributed
- US$ 39.4 million six months net funding requirements (April – September 2022)
Operational Updates
- In March, WFP provided cash and food assistance to 182,152 internally displaced persons (IDPs), 68,419 refugees, and 8,118 people from vulnerable communities through resilience building initiatives. Through the School Feeding Programme, WFP supported 451,803 children.
- WFP’s resilience-building initiatives continue to provide smallholder farmers with the support they need in order to improve their production and increase crop yields. In Ninewa governorate, WFP provided greenhouses, beehives, cattle and seeds to 325 farmers who utilize the knowledge and expertise shared by WFP to provide a sustainable livelihood for themselves and their families.
- WFP collaborated with the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources to organize the second Annual Baghdad International Water Conference, to help highlight and provide solutions to the issues of climate change and water scarcity facing Iraq’s people and agriculture. WFP presented its latest data and findings on the issue to support the government of Iraq with its Green Paper to address these serious challenges.
- In its continued efforts to support Iraq’s youth, and confront climate change, WFP provided a new solar power system for the Career Development Centre at the University of Sulaymaniyah. The solar energy provided now effectively meets the electricity gap during power cuts or shortages, enabling seamless support to youth in need as they take part in the EMPACT (Empowerment in Action) project. Participation in this project supports students with relevant training in English, digital skills and entrepreneurship that enables them to find work opportunities, start small businesses and provide an income.
- In collaboration with the University of Sulaymaniyah and German creative design platform JOVOTO, WFP celebrated the three young EMPACT graduates Aisha, Mohammed and Kawther, whose designs revolving around the EMPACT project won the first, second and third prizes respectively, in the first design innovation joint competition.
- For International Women’s Day on 8 March, Urban Livelihoods participant and trainer Nada was invited by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Baghdad to visit from Basra, to participate in a special event to speak about her journey and experience. The impact of WFP’s Urban Livelihoods programme, implemented across southern Iraq and Ninewa, is apparent through star participants such as Nada. She attended the programme, then taught photography skills that she acquired from her training, quickly became a social entrepreneur, leader of a prolific youth creative group, and role model for her contemporaries in Basra.
- Under the School Feeding Programme funded and coimplemented by the Government of Iraq, WFP organized several workshops and training sessions to further develop the capacity of the Ministry of Education, to be able to successfully implement the programme independently in the future, while WFP continues providing technical and logistics support and expertise. These included three Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions, three capacity building workshops and a Food Quality Control workshop that was delivered in cooperation with WFP’s Regional Bureau.
- As part of the joint Social Protection Programme with the government and UN partners, WFP held three consultation workshops for more than 80 Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government staff members and key Ministerial participants. The workshops produced a roadmap for establishing a Single Registry based on multi-stakeholder discussions. The workshops also initiated dialogue on the improvement of Iraq’s social protection schemes with special focus on the public distribution system for food rations (PDS). In addition to multiple Ministry representatives, the workshops were attended by UNICEF, ILO, World Bank, GIZ and UNHCR.
- Representatives of Canada and Germany visited Sharya IDP camp in Duhok and met with a number of displaced families to discuss their situation, reasons that prohibit their return to their homes, and ongoing needs.
- In light of the rise in food prices as a result of the RussianUkrainian conflict, WFP temporarily increased its cash transfer value to vulnerable IDPs living in Jadaa-5 camp to mitigate the effects and ensure that families are not affected.
The full report can be downloaded here.
(Source: ReliefWeb)
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