Sustainable Solutions
Sustainable Solutions
Syrian refugee women participate in tailoring classes organized by a UNHCR partner at Darashakran Camp in Erbil.
Livelihoods and Economic Inclusion
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Expanding refugee self-reliance is an objective of the Global Compact on Refugees. It is also integral to the overarching aim of leaving no one behind under the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
Refugees in Iraq represent approximately 1% of the total working-age population. Facilitating their access to decent work and economic opportunities allows them to become self-reliant while enabling them to contribute to the local economy. When refugees can work without discrimination in the local market, they contribute as employers, employees, and consumers.
UNHCR's role in promoting refugee livelihoods and economic inclusion focuses on promoting a conducive legislative and regulatory environment that will (1) improve refugee access to decent work and key social protection mechanisms, such as insurance and social security; and (2) promote increased access to skills development and entrepreneurship providing refugees, in particular youth, a greater ability to participate and contribute to the local economy.
UNHCR is also working with partners to support inclusive policies focused on financial inclusion, that will support refugees and asylum seekers to achieve self-reliance and economic independence, helping them to integrate into the hosting communities they live in.
Education
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The Refugee Education Integration Policy in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
At the start of the Syrian crisis, the Ministry of Education of the Kurdistan Regional Government administered and managed a parallel education system for Syrian refugees, featuring a specific curriculum and learning materials taught in Arabic by Syrian refugee teachers in refugee-only schools.
Following a decision by the Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2021, the Refugee Education Integration Policy was officially launched in 2022, by the Ministry of Education of the Kurdistan Regional Government. The Refugee Education Integration Policy aims to advance refugee inclusion in the public education system, ending the need for a parallel system and representing a significant milestone in advancing the inclusion of refugees in the national education system.
The Refugee Education Integration Policy was first implemented in the 2022-2023 academic year for grades 1-4, supported by UNHCR, UNICEF and education partners, and was subsequently extended to include grade 5 for the 2023-2024 academic year, grade 6 for the 2024-2025 academic year and now grade 7 for the 2025-202 academic year. In December 2023, at the Global Refugee Forum, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq pledged to ensure that the REIP will be implemented incrementally for grades 5 to 12 by 2030.
A total of 48,000 Syrian refugee children are enrolled in public schools in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for the 2024-2025 academic year, representing 74 per cent of the total Syrian school-aged refugee population. 77 per cent are enrolled in basic education in grades 1-9, while 35 per cent are enrolled at the upper-secondary level in grades 10-12.
In a landmark move, the Kurdistan Regional Government has also recognised the qualifications of 700 refugee teachers and officially hired them as lecturers in public schools. These refugee teachers are included in the payroll system and guaranteed the same salary as national teachers.
Including refugee children in public schools benefits both refugee and local communities as it gives refugee children access to public quality and inclusive education, reduces the need for costly measures to sustain parallel refugee schooling and fosters social cohesion from a young age. Refugee inclusion in public schools supports access to a recognised qualification, giving refugee youth an opportunity to shape their future, improving their ability to pursue productive and meaningful lives, paving the way for stronger outcomes including enhanced economic inclusion, which contributes to stronger integration into their host community.
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DAFI Scholarship
UNHCR supports refugee access to higher education through the DAFI (Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative) tertiary scholarship programme. The DAFI scholarship offers qualified refugee students the opportunity to continue with education, providing comprehensive financial and academic assistance to empower them as future leaders. Whilst academically achieving an undergraduate degree, the program also enables students to develop skills and achieve qualifications that allows them to become change-makers who can lead in identifying solutions to the challenges that affect them and their communities. The scholarship covers a range of costs, including tuition, fees, study materials, food, transportation, accommodation and other expenses.
Through the dedicated support of the Government of Germany, along with the support of the Government of Denmark, as well as other private partners and foundations, the programme has supported over 26,300 young refugees around the world to undertake tertiary studies since 1992.
For the academic year 2025-2026, UNHCR is supporting 49 refugee students in higher education through the DAFI scholarship. In total, since 2016, 492 refugee students have been supported by UNHCR to attend university in Iraq through the programme.
Health
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UNHCR through its collaboration with the Directorates of Health in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has supported the full inclusion of refugees into the public healthcare system. As part of these efforts, UNHCR has constructed four primary healthcare clinics in communities hosting large numbers of refugees, including those neighbouring refugee camps, as well as rehabilitating other pre-existing clinics, promoting equitable access to healthcare for refugee and hosting communities.
Read more about refugee doctors working in the Iraqi public health system
Social Protection
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Inclusion of Refugees in National Social Protection Systems
In 2024, UNHCR rolled out a new targeting approach for its cash assistance programme based on socio-economic vulnerabilities of refugees and asylum seekers. These changes were partly implemented to align UNHCR’s cash programming more closely with the criteria of the national Social Safety Net (SSN). UNHCR continues to advocate for and works with the Government of Iraq, humanitarian and development actors to support refugee inclusion in national social protection systems, emphasizing the importance of the re-establishment of the SSN in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
To achieve this objective, UNHCR is working with the World Bank and UNICEF on a pilot project to implement the Social Safety Net system in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This project, which is led by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, will be implement in Dohuk city, in the Governorate of Dohuk, and will include a 20% refugee caseload (approximately 600 households). The pilot will test eligibility pathways, delivery mechanisms, and data sharing modalities that allow both host communities and refugees to access social assistance through a unified system. This project, which is ongoing, is pivotal to establishing an inclusive social protection system into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq by scaling up to other governorates, subject to government endorsement and available resources.
Learn more about the inclusion of internally displaced persons in Iraqi social protection systems
Refugee Camp Transformation
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Iraq currently has nine refugee camps, all of which are located in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Most were established over a decade ago following the arrival of refugees from Syria from 2011. Some 30 percent of refugees currently live in camps in Iraq, while the remainder live in towns and cities in urban areas. The provision of services and assistance by UNHCR to refugees living in camps has changed significantly since the beginning of the Syria crisis. While UNHCR initially focused on providing shelter and life-saving assistance such as health care, recent years have seen a strong transition away from parallel services delivered in the camp, as refugee access to key public services has increased offering more sustainable service delivery and promoting refugee self-reliance. In all refugee camps, local municipalities have taken on responsibility for delivering services, such as providing electricity, water and facilitating garbage collection in the camps.
Moving forward, UNHCR will continue to support the transition away from a humanitarian camp management approach to local authority oversight of refugee camps in a managed process that can be monitored, supported, and that will allow for dependable and sustainable site management, with needs reflected in local development plans and budgets, but will also support stronger local integration for all communities. This approach will be closely coordinated with the Ministry of Interior in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, through UNHCR’s partnership with the Joint Crisis Coordination Centre.