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UNHCR seeks donor help amid funding shortfall for Iraq operation

News Stories, 9 May 2008

© UNHCR/H.Mukhtar
Iraqi refugees look at lists of those due to collect food aid in Damascus.

GENEVA, May 9 (UNHCR) – Faced with a looming funding shortfall, the UN refugee agency warned on Friday that it could soon be forced to reduce and, in some cases, to halt a number of aid programmes for hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees unless donor governments provide extra support.

Agency officials told a donor meeting at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva on Friday that they lacked US$127 million required for assistance programmes for uprooted people in and around Iraq through the end of the year.

"We will not be able to help hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees and internally displaced if we do not receive funding for the remainder of 2008," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "Without this support, the humanitarian crisis we have faced over the past two years may grow even larger."

In January, UNHCR appealed for US$261 million for its operations on behalf of some of the 4.7 million people uprooted by the conflict in Iraq. It has so far received US$134 million, but urgently requires the remainder to ensure the continuation of direct assistance programmes for many of Iraq's internally displaced people (IDPs) as well as those who have fled elsewhere in the region, including to Syria, Jordan, Iran, Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey. The agency also cares for some 41,000 non-Iraqi refugees in Iraq, including Palestinians, Iranians, Turks and others.

Most of the refugees outside Iraq are in Syria and Jordan and are living in urban areas such as Damascus and Amman. The most vulnerable of these benefit from medical, food and direct financial assistance. Last month in Syria, more than 128,000 refugees received food assistance and close to 40,000 received subsidized health care. Many of them are running out of money and finding it increasingly difficult to survive amid a dramatic increase in food prices across the region.

In addition to direct cash assistance to some of the most vulnerable refugees, UNHCR is supporting efforts by governments in the region that are struggling to cope with the huge numbers of Iraqis who have strained local resources and infrastructure, including schools and health systems.

UNHCR has registered more than 280,000 Iraqis in neighbouring states; given health assistance to some 250,000 people and provided educational support in Syria, Jordan and other countries that has enabled some 72,000 refugee children to attend school. This year, the agency has set a target of getting another 70,000 Iraqi refugee children into school, but with the shortfall in funding, many Iraqi children might miss out on education.

In Egypt and Lebanon, where most Iraqi refugee children are enrolled in private schools, more than 4,000 children will not receive the education grants that UNHCR offered last year to enable them to continue their education.

Health programmes for Iraqis could be drastically reduced and the provision of some specialized medical interventions might come to a complete halt. By August, UNHCR will not be able to cover all basic health needs of Iraqis, and many seriously ill Iraqis will not be able to receive their monthly medication.

Since January, 150,000 Iraqis in Syria and close 19,000 in Jordan received basic health care assistance. With health facilities compromised in many parts of Iraq and many doctors no longer available, a growing number of ailing Iraqis are becoming refugees as they leave home in search of medical care elsewhere.

Distribution programmes in Syria and Jordan, the lifeline of 150,000 refugees who received food aid in 2007-2008, could be reduced, forcing many Iraqis into further destitution and raising the likelihood of higher malnutrition rates and increased child labour.

Omar, a 69-year-old refugee from Baghdad, said he would die a "slow death" if assistance was stopped. He and his family have depended on food and medical assistance since they fled to Syria in 2006, and are paying rent from remittances from Iraq that he says are "our only way to survive."

The funding crisis comes as fuel, food and rent costs have risen dramatically.

In November, 5 percent of Iraqi refugees interviewed in a UNHCR-commissioned survey by IPSOS Market Research said that they live on less than US$100 a month. By March, that number had risen to 20 percent.

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UNHCR country pages

UNHCR Iraq Fact Sheet

Camp New Iraq (formerly Camp Ashraf) residents and the determination of their refugee status claims

The Global Report and Funding Reports

A comprehensive view of the refugee agency's challenges and achievements worldwide.

Donors

Governments, organisations and individuals who fund UNHCR's activities.

The Global Appeal and Supplementary Appeals

Alerting donors, organizations and individuals to the plight of millions of uprooted people.

Crisis in Iraq: Displacement

UNHCR and its partners estimate that out of a total population of 26 million, some 1.9 million Iraqis are currently displaced internally and more than 2 million others have fled to nearby countries. While many people were displaced before 2003, increasing numbers of Iraqis are now fleeing escalating sectarian, ethnic and general violence. Since January 2006, UNHCR estimates that more than 800,000 Iraqis have been uprooted and that 40,000 to 50,000 continue to flee their homes every month. UNHCR anticipates there will be approximately 2.3 million internally displaced people within Iraq by the end of 2007. The refugee agency and its partners have provided emergency assistance, shelter and legal aid to displaced Iraqis where security has allowed.

In January 2007, UNHCR launched an initial appeal for US$60 million to fund its Iraq programme. Despite security issues for humanitarian workers inside the country, UNHCR and partners hope to continue helping up to 250,000 of the most vulnerable internally displaced Iraqis and their host communities

Posted on 12 June 2007

Crisis in Iraq: Displacement

Non-Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

After Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled in Iraq in 2003, groups of refugees who had lived in the country for many years tried to leave the chaos and lawlessness that soon ensued. Hundreds of people started fleeing to the border with Jordan, including Palestinians in Baghdad and Iranian Kurds from the Al Tash refugee camp in central Iraq.

Aside from a few Palestinians with family connections inside the neighbouring country, the refugees were refused entry and free movement in Jordan. Thousands were soon stranded in the no-man's land between Iraq and Jordan or at the desert camp of Ruweished, located 60 kilometres inside Jordan.

Since 2003, Palestinians, Iranian Kurds, Iranians, Sudanese and Somalis have been living there and suffering the scorching heat and freezing winters of the Jordanian desert. UNHCR and its partners have provided housing and assistance and tried to find solutions – the agency has helped resettle more than 1,000 people in third countries. At the beginning of 2007, a total of 119 people – mostly Palestinians – remained in Ruweished camp without any immediate solution in sight.

Posted on 20 February 2007

Non-Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

The UN refugee agency has launched a US$60 million appeal to fund its work helping hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people. The new appeal concludes that unremitting violence in Iraq will likely mean continued mass internal and external displacement affecting much of the surrounding region. The appeal notes that the current exodus is the largest long-term population movement in the Middle East since the displacement of Palestinians following the creation of Israel in 1948.

UNHCR has warned that the longer this conflict goes on, the more difficult it will become for the hundreds of thousands of displaced and the communities that are trying to help them – both inside and outside Iraq. Because the burden on host communities and governments in the region is enormous, it is essential that the international community support humanitarian efforts.

The US$60 million will cover UNHCR's protection and assistance programmes for Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey, as well as non-Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people within Iraq itself.

Posted on 10 January 2007

Iraqi Refugees in Jordan

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