ReliefWeb

Highlights

• To continue assisting Iraqis affected by the current crisis for the next six months, WFP requires USD 45 million until May 2016; a further USD 25.7 million is needed for the Syrian refugee response in Iraq for the same time period. To extend assistance for as long as possible, WFP is continuing tiered distributions for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and Syrian refugees for the rest of the year, adjusted by their assessed vulnerability to food insecurity and location.

• WFP distributed urgently needed food assistance donated by the Government of Iraq to 70,000 people in the besieged cities of Haditha and Al-Baghdadi in Anbar governorate - the first time WFP assistance has reached the two cities since April 2015. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) covered the cost of handling, transporting and distributing the 1,050 mt of mixed food commodities.

Situation Update

• WFP remote monitoring demonstrated that in October, food consumption scores of IDPs living in camps continued to deteriorate. Almost one third of all IDPs reported resorting to negative food-based coping strategies, as they did not have enough food or money to buy food. In Duhok, one out of every ten households reported inadequate food consumption – almost triple the national average of 4 percent.

• Millions of Muslim pilgrims are en route to visit holy shrines in Karbala, southwest of Baghdad, for the ceremony of Arbaeen. Civilian processions began on 25 November, delaying access for vehicles along major traffic routes until the end of the ceremony on 03 December. To overcome blocked supply routes, WFP completed distributions in the southern governorates early in the month.