Millions of Iraqis could be left without food, water, medicine and shelter over the next six months unless the international community urgently comes up with nearly $500m of humanitarian aid, the UN warned on Thursday.
Lise Grande, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said failure to find the money to help those caught up in the war between Islamic State and the Iraqi government would have “catastrophic” consequences that could leave 10 million people in need of life-saving support by the end of the year.
“The crisis in Iraq is one of the most complex and volatile anywhere in the world,” she said.
“Humanitarian partners have been doing everything they can to help. But more than 50% of the operation will be shut down or cut back if money is not received immediately.”
As the conflict escalates, the UN and its NGO partners are asking donors for $497m to help provide basic support for the 5.6 million people displaced or affected by the violence.
Although the UN estimates that more than 8 million people currently require life-saving support – and warns that number could rise by a quarter by the end of 2015 – it said the dangers facing civilians go far beyond aid.
“Violence has already forced nearly 3 million people from their homes, leaving them scattered in more than 3,000 locations across the country,” the UN said in a statement.
“Human rights and rule of law are under constant assault as sectarian tensions sharpen. Mass executions, systematic rape and horrendous acts of violence are rampant.”
It said the funding shortfall had already led to the closure of 77 frontline health clinics and a reduction in rations for more than a million people.
Dr Jaffar Hussain, the head of the World Health Organisation’s operations in Iraq, said the health challenges facing internally displaced persons (IDPs) were “enormous”. The WHO estimates that 85%-90% of the IDPs are living wherever they can find shelter, leaving them vulnerable to communicable diseases such as measles, hepatitis and other waterborne diseases.
“The scale and scope of conflict in Iraq has expanded and the situation is very challenging due to massive displacement since June 2014 and its effect on the host community,” he said.
“With the arrival of summer and temperatures above 50C in the southern and central parts of Iraq, WHO is very concerned about the risks faced by IDP populations and their extreme vulnerability to outbreaks, including cholera and hepatitis.”
Hussain said the WHO was already treating numerous patients with chronic diseases without the necessary infrastructures and or health personnel.
He added: “There are three strategic aims for health assistance: ensuring that both preventive and curative health services are available to all IDPs; maintaining the supply chain of essential and life-saving medicine to all health outlets; and ensuring effective preventive measures.”
Britain announced on Thursday that it would provide £20m of new humanitarian funding to Iraqi families. The Department for International Development (DfID) said the money would help tens of thousands of vulnerable and displaced Iraqis gain access to water, food and medicine – and go on protecting women and girls. The latest DfID pledge brings the UK’s total humanitarian response to the Iraq crisis to £59.5m.
The international development secretary, Justine Greening, said Islamic State’s “indiscriminate persecution” had left millions of Iraqis in need and forced many people to flee the region and risk their lives by crossing the Mediterranean.
“That is why the world cannot ignore the terrible plight these people find themselves in, caught up in conflict,” she said.
“It is so important that the international community provides people not only with immediate, life-saving help where they are - whether in refugee camps or living in nearby communities - but ultimately with hope for a better future and the prospect of rebuilding their lives.”
