Syrian refugees set up home in Iraq's Domiz camp – in pictures

Domiz refugee camp is located in the Kurdish province of Dohuk in northern Iraq. Each week, thousands of Syrian refugees arrive at the camp, which opened in 2012 and was designed to host about 2,000 families. A year on, however, almost 8,000 families live in Domiz, resulting in overcrowding and pressure on food, water and sanitation Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

The living conditions are particularly dire in the two oldest 'phases' of Domiz, and in the camp's informal outskirts. Infrastructure, including water and sanitation facilities, is alarmingly insufficient in those areas Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

Access to essential services and dignified shelter remains a challenge for many households Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

In August 2012, Hazina, 37, fled Damascus with her children. They crossed the border into northern Iraq and still live on the outskirts of Domiz, without access to adequate toilets or kitchen facilities. 'It's going to be extremely hot in the summer months, not least for the children,' says Hazina. 'We need something that will cool us down' Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

Filthy water from hundreds of households in the camp spreads into communal spaces. Here, a stream of dirty water runs directly under a family’s home. During the hot summer months, these open puddles become a breeding ground for waterborne diseases such as cholera Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

Hazina helps her youngest child, four-year-old Lolo, wash her hands. Lolo is developmentally disabled and cannot walk, but Hazina has not received any assistance to address her daughter’s specific needs Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

Some of the newer sections of Domiz camp have separate kitchens and adequate sanitation. Here, every two households share one latrine block Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

Even here, however, many vulnerable refugee families have limited access to water for drinking, cooking and hygiene Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

With space inside the camp exhausted, new arrivals have started to erect temporary shelters around the edges. Many have nowhere else to go. This informal part of the camp is located on private land, outside the site's official boundaries Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

On the edges of Domiz, Syrian refugees often stay for months without access to adequate services before they get a chance to move into the more established part of the camp with its better facilities Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

Water is trucked into the transit areas of Domiz camp. With thousands of new arrivals each week, humanitarian NGOs are struggling to meet the basic needs of the increasing refugee population Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

Hamud studies the Qur'an in a small tented mosque in Domiz camp. Hamud and his family came to the camp in August 2012, but he has still not been registered to receive a tent in the formal camp. 'Other refugees provided me and my family with a small tent, but it is located at an illegal site in the camp. We have no electricity, too little water and almost no money,' he says Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

In addition to Domiz camp, approximately 90,000 refugees are scattered in and around urban centres in northern Iraq. Some are well integrated – socially and economically – whereas others are just making ends meet. The most vulnerable households have few resources, and no employment Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

Many of the more than 90,000 Syrian refugees in urban areas have received little or no assistance from the local government or the humanitarian community. The vast majority of Syrian refugees arriving in the Kurdish region of Iraq are ethnic Kurds Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council