Since August 2014, Iraq witnessed a massive displacement and humanitarian crisis due to the entrance of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and their occupation of several governorates of Iraq including Ninawa. The armed conflict resulted cumulatively in more than 6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) across Iraq since the start of the crisis. It left more than 6.7 million in need of humanitarian assistance.
The end of 2017 was marked by the Iraqi government’s announcement of defeating ISIL and retaking control of the occupied governorates. IDPs started returning to their devastated villages, ruined homes, and destroyed basic infrastructures. The returning process has been rather slow. According to UNOCHA, approximately, 1.2 million people remain internally displaced within the country and 4.1 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
In the second half of 2020, with the IDP camps' closure, Our humanitarian focus shifted to out-of-camp displacement and the importance of support in various unprepared locations.
The ongoing conflicts within the country have led to an unstable security fabric and social difficulties. The has crippled the economy, increased unemployment rates, drastically decreased living standards throughout the country.
Along with the conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the private sector in the country. It caused multiple MSMEs to close, leaving families without an income to rely on. The unemployment rate in Iraq for the year 2020 hit 12.83% of the population (source: Statista).