Attachments
Introduction
This research is part of a project to understand how people affected by crisis and humanitarian field staff perceive the impact of the Grand Bargain commitments. It is a joint effort by Ground Truth Solutions (GTS) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretariat with financial support from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). Iraq is one of the seven countries covered by this research. The others are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Haiti, Lebanon, Somalia and Uganda.
This report is based on responses to two standardised surveys in Iraq. The first was conducted face-to-face with 704 affected people in the governorates of Anbar, Erbil and Ninewa in November and December 2018. Staff were surveyed using an online survey completed by 266 staff members of national and international aid organisations, as well as UN agencies. Previous surveys of both affected people and staff conducted in 2017 provide a benchmark against which developments in perceptions of the humanitarian response can be tracked.
This summary covers the key findings from the affected people and humanitarian staff surveys. Detailed answers to all questions are included in subsequent sections, as well as comparisons with the results from the 2017 GTS surveys.
Key findings
• Overall, affected people are slightly more positive than they were in the last survey in 2017, although responses show a similar pattern. Their awareness of complaints mechanisms and sense of participation in aid provision show considerable improvements to the previous year. This is mirrored by humanitarian staff, who also report greater consideration of affected people’s opinions.
• However, affected people are less convinced the aid they receive covers their basic needs than they were in 2017. A larger proportion (89%) expects to remain dependent on aid and few (19%) see life improving for people in Iraq. Unmet needs most often include cash, healthcare, food and shelter.
• Humanitarian staff see a need for more funding for durable solutions. Better coordination among aid providers and collaboration between humanitarian and development actors are identified as ways forward.
• Fewer staff respondents (40%) feel local aid providers are given enough support, compared to the last survey in 2017. This is despite widespread consensus that a combination of local and international organisations are best placed to provide aid in Iraq. In the absence of adequate support, just over 50% feel local aid providers lack the capacity to deliver high-quality aid.
• Affected people continue to feel safe and respected, while aid providers are trusted to act in their best interest. Where this trust is missing, 30% feel unable to report instances of abuse and mistreatment, and women feel less able to do so than men across locations.
• Close to 60% of those who have filed a suggestion or complaint say they did not receive a response. This stands in stark contrast to the perspective of humanitarian staff, the vast majority of whom (96%) believe that complaints will get a response.
• Over 70% of affected people do not feel informed about available aid, a slight decrease since the last survey in 2017. Without enough information about available aid, over 40% of affected people feel aid is not reaching those most in need. Again, in contrast, humanitarian staff remain positive, with almost 90% saying that aid is distributed to those most in need.