As the war against the Islamic State passes the 15-month mark and the Syrian conflict approaches its fifth year, many displaced families have now exhausted their savings, finding themselves increasingly reliant on humanitarian assistance, while at the same time donor funding is decreasing. The Kurdistan Region's financial crisis is worsening an already dire situation, aid workers warn.
Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Kyung-wha Kang, visited Erbil on Monday to meet with Kurdish officials, aid workers and displaced Iraqis ahead of a fund-raising push to raise money for the UN's winterization campaign.
At Harshem camp on the outskirts of Erbil, former soldier and displaced Mosul resident Ahmed Salah Khalif told Kyung-wha how a lack of jobs for displaced Iraqis made those in the camp desperately reliant on humanitarian assistance.
“The people here cannot provide basic needs to their families,” Khalif, an elected camp committee member, said.
Aid workers too are bemoaning the uncertain future of Iraq's displaced, especially in the face of shrinking resources and support.
“During the emergency phase many people had a [savings] buffer,” said Frederic Cussigh, UNHCR senior field coordinator manager. “Now they're becoming more vulnerable as they run out of resources.”
Whereas before camps were previously seen as a last resort, spaces in camps have come under increasing demand as families have exhausted their savings. Harshem Camp manager Richie Hannah said, “We're at capacity and our waiting list is growing.”
At the same time, funding for the camp is decreasing, which Hannah described as a mounting challenge.
Erbil Refugee Council head Vian Rasheed Younis told Kyung-wha that the region was unable even to secure adequate supplies of kerosene – indispensable for heating and cooking.
Following her visit, Kyung-wha said a lack of funding was preventing the UN from doing more to help. “This year's funding request just for the second half of this year was less than 50 percent matched and that was a very, very minimum prioritized humanitarian plan,” she said. “Next year it’s going to be an equally difficult challenge just to be able to mobilize the resources to meet the huge needs of the huge IDP case load in the Kurdistan Region.”
