Iraq Humanitarian Fund (IHF): 1st Standard Allocation 2021 - Allocation Strategy (As of 25 April 2020)

Overview

• This allocation strategy is issued by the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC), in consultation with the Clusters and Advisory Board of the Iraq Humanitarian Fund (IHF), to set the IHF funding priorities for the 2021 1st Standard Allocation to support the 2021 Iraq Humanitarian Response Plan, addressing key response gaps.

• A total amount of up to US$13.5 million is available under this allocation. The strategy outlines the allocation’s strategic direction and priorities, the rationale for the prioritization, and a timeline and procedure for the allocation process.

Humanitarian Context

Overview of Humanitarian Situation

More than three years after the end of large-scale military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the humanitarian context in Iraq remains fragile, characterized by protracted, widespread internal displacement, ongoing but limited returns due to security concerns, disrupted access to basic services and destroyed livelihoods in the areas of origin, eroded national social cohesion, and increased protection risks. Approximately 1.3 million people remain internally displaced within Iraq and 4.1 million people need some form of humanitarian assistance, including 2.4 million people with acute humanitarian needs.

While the total number of people in need remained similar over the last year, the severity of those needs increased, largely due to the impact of COVID19 and economic crisis on top of an existing humanitarian crisis, leading to large-scale loss of livelihoods. As a result, reliance on negative coping mechanisms and psychological trauma, stress and anxiety have increased. Further, the sudden, uncoordinated closure of 14 Internally displaced person (IDP) camps across Iraq since mid-October 2020 led to increased population movements, including pre-emptive and premature returns and secondary displacement.

The most acute humanitarian needs are found in the five governorates (Al-Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Ninewa and Salah Al-Din) that were directly affected by the counter-ISIL military operations from 2014 to 2017, as well as in the governorates that received and hosted significant numbers of the displaced i.e. those named above plus those in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Further, a recently completed 2020 HRP gap analysis by the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG) found response gaps to be particularly high among out-of-camp IDPs and returnees in acute need, especially in underserved districts with limited partner presence and/or COVID19-linked response challenges.