IRAQ: Local aid groups support UNHCR appeal for more funds

Photo: M.Bernard/UNHCR

Kids play in a neighbourhood populated mostly by Iraqi refugees. Because refugees are not allowed to work in Syria, children often must take informal jobs to help support their families

BAGHDAD, 12 May 2008 (IRIN) - Local aid organisations on 12 May joined the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in appealing to international donors for US$127 million to help Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees until the end of 2008.

[Read this report in Arabic]

“These are international commitments and must be honoured by the donors,” said Basil al-Azawi, head of the Iraqi Commission for Civil Society Enterprises, a coalition of over 1,000 Iraqi non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“And apart from this, we call on the Iraqi government not to depend solely on international aid and to shoulder its responsibilities by drawing up plans, as there are more than four million uprooted Iraqis scattered inside and outside Iraq,” al-Azawi told IRIN.

He stressed the need for cooperation between international and Iraqi aid agencies, and said how aid money is spent must be clearly documented. “We local NGOs have no idea how this [aid] money is being spent. Some organisations present detailed documents on their expenditures, others do not.”

“There is a perception that huge sums are being paid as high salaries to these organisations’ employees or being paid as rent for their buildings,” he said.

Warning

The UNHCR launched the appeal on 9 May after warning, at a donor meeting in Geneva, that it could find itself forced to reduce or suspend a number of its programmes covering medical, food, education and direct financial assistance unless additional support were forthcoming.

Photo: M.Bernard/UNHCR

UNHCR staff register refugees at the Douma registration centre on the outskirts of Damascus. Registering with UNHCR ensures that the most vulnerable refugees receive aid

"We will not be able to help hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable Iraqi refugees and IDPs if we do not receive funding for the remainder of 2008," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "Without this support, the humanitarian crisis we have faced over the past two years may grow even larger."

In January 2008, the UNHCR appealed for US$261 million for its Iraq-related operations inside and outside the war-torn country but it has so far received only US$134 million.

It said the funding shortfall could jeopardise the lives of 150,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria and close to 19,000 in Jordan who have been receiving basic health care assistance since last January.

The UNHCR said the number of Iraqi refugees in Syria who had benefited from food assistance in March was over 128,000, while close to 40,000 received subsidised health care.

“Many of them are running out of money and finding it increasingly difficult to survive amid a dramatic increase in food prices across the region,” the UNHCR said.

“Health programmes for Iraqis could be drastically reduced and the provision of some specialised medical interventions might come to a complete halt. By August, UNHCR will not be able to cover all basic health needs of Iraqis, and many serious and chronically ill Iraqis will not be able to receive their monthly medication,” it said.

For an overview of the Iraqi IDP/refugee situation and policy recommendations, see the Refugees International website.

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