“We are aware of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) budget constraints—we are not looking to them for money,” says Dr. Jacqueline Badcock, who oversees all United Nations humanitarian activity in Iraq. “We need to look at new ways to look for funding. This means exploring possibilities in the private sector as well as engagement with neighbouring countries.”
The UN has been hesitant to reach out to Kurds because of the sacrifices they have already made to host internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees. But many Kurds are still eager to help, and the huge shortfall in funding has forced the organisation to think outside the box.
At a meeting designed to draw attention to the ‘winterisation’ campaign on Monday, one member of the Kurdish press suggested placing fundraising ads on Kurdish television stations.
“I think that this is something we should really consider,” Badcock responded, pointing to the KRG as a possible promoter. She added that a telethon, a televised campaign typically lasting several days, could also be a good idea.
“Let’s not forget that globally there is a large diaspora population,” Badcock added, referring to the estimated 1.5 million Kurds living outside Kurdistan. “Through your networks, how do we reach them? This is something we haven’t explored before.”
The Kurdistan Region hosts almost 900,000 Iraqi IDPs—half of the total in the country—as well as 215,000 Syrian refugees. Winter hits the region earlier and harder than the rest of the country because of its higher altitude, higher rainfall, and lower temperatures, and although preparations for cold weather began in August, a major budget shortfall has constrained UN efforts.
Several factors have complicated fundraising efforts thus far.
Although Iraq is experiencing a critical ‘level 3 crisis,’—the designation for the maximum level of humanitarian need—three other countries are currently at the same level and compete with Iraq for funding, The Central African Republic, South Sudan and Syria next door, where there are at least three times as many IDPs as in Iraq.
There have been three major waves of displacement as a result of Islamic State violence—Anbar in January, Mosul in June, and Nineveh in August—so that UN appeals for funding have continually risen.
At the same time, it will be more difficult for the KRG to provide the same 25 percent discount on fuels like kerosene it offered aid organizations last winter, both because of a hike in fuel prices and an escalating budget crisis in the region, which has not seen money from Baghdad since January.
Even if the UN meets its target, its immediate response plan will not get everyone out of the cold in time. The KRG and UN previously estimated that the first rollout of winterisation would leave 166,000 people without proper housing, meaning many IDPs would continue to live in construction sites or public spaces.
Normally the priority is given to the most vulnerable: children, women, the sick and the elderly, “but it’s complicated by the pressures on education,” Badcock says. “In many ways you could argue that some of the most vulnerable are living in unfinished buildings. But that doesn’t solve the school problem…I think the schools are a big issue, so we’re having to focus on that in the first instance and provide what we can to those in unfinished buildings, but it’s a very difficult decision.”
As the United Nations looks for private donors, there are ways the Iraqi government can help reduce costs.
Thousands of IDPs are civil servants who have not received salaries from the Iraqi government. The UN acknowledges that if these people were paid, it would change their programming and reduce the need for emergency aid—significantly reducing the financial burden on humanitarian organizations.
“We continue strong advocacy with the government,” Badcock says. “ A lot of people who were teachers will be immediately helped once we get schools back and started. That should trigger their salaries. But of course there’s a whole gamut of public sector people. This is an issue for the central government to address, and they reassure us it’s high on their agenda.”
