Pandemic empties the pockets of Iraq’s most vulnerable

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating in Iraq and is having a serious socio-economic impact on the most vulnerable sections of the population, including children.

According to Iraq’s health ministry, 2,862 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed on Saturday, the highest tally since the outbreak started. There were 72 new deaths recorded, bringing the total to 4,284.

The pandemic has forced the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil to impose restrictions on movement and businesses since March, leaving many people out of work. At the same time, low oil prices have affected the government’s ability to assist its citizens, dealing a further blow to those on low incomes. 

“We were jobless for four months and no one came to us to offer compensation at all,” Baban Shirzad, the owner of a kebab shop in Kirkuk city told Rudaw on Saturday. 

“We have people who work here and earn 15-20,000 ($12.50-$16.80) dinars a day, a basic salary.  Honestly, if he does not earn that amount, he would not be able to feed his wife and children.”

The poverty rate is growing, with at least 4.5 million people at risk of falling below the poverty line as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new assessment by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning.

“This sharp increase would bring the national poverty rate to 31.7% from 20% in 2018 and the total number of poor to 11.4 million. Children and adolescents face the highest increase in poverty.”

“Before the pandemic broke, one out of five children and adolescents were poor. This is now set to double to over 2 out of every 5, or 37.9% of all children,” it added.

Iraq’s government relies on oil to generate over 90% of its revenue. With prices plummeting as a result of the pandemic, the government has been left unable to pay for most services.

Nawa, a mother-of-four in Erbil has buckled under the economic pressure and is worried about what is going to happen to her family. 

“We have nothing: no beef, no chicken, I have even forgotten how much they cost,” Nawa told Rudaw’s Dlnia Rehman on Saturday, showing her empty freezer. 

Nawa’s husband worked at a fruit and vegetable distribution center for 25,000 dinars ($21) per day but with the pandemic shutting down businesses for months, the family’s finances went haywire. 

“Yesterday my son asked for eggs and I told him we had no money but in the end I had to go and buy three eggs for 500 dinars ($0.42).”

The family have not been able to pay their rent and it is only thanks to the charity of well-wishers that they still have a roof over their heads. “We used to be able to pay the rent, we used to pay for everything, but now I would be grateful if he could earn 5-10,000 dinars a day,” Nawa added.

According to the World Food Programme, 3.5 million people across Iraq are facing hunger as of July.

The pandemic has caused havoc across the country. For many, there is still no light at the end of the tunnel as the infection spreads at an alarming rate.

“We are all tired, taxi drivers, workers, people in rented houses,” Jamal Jasem from Baghdad told Rudaw on Saturday. “We are all exhausted.”

The arrival of Eid al-Adha at the end of July is usually a time of celebration and shopping. This year, with another lockdown looming, there is a somber mood across Iraq. 

“If we used to have good food, now we can’t have that, the prices have gone up, look, this is the time of Eid but they have already said there would be a lockdown,” Shirzad said.

“We need to respond, and we need to do so quickly. We at UNICEF are calling for our partners in government to step-up policies aimed at protecting children from poverty,” said Hamida Lasseko, UNICEF’s Representative to Iraq.