Country Stats

  • Population: 44,496,122
  • Individuals internally displaced: 1.2 million people
  • Individuals requiring humanitarian assistance: 4.1 million people
  • Individuals in acute need of assistance: 2.4 million people

Concern's Impact

  • 5,498 children provided access to Protection services
  • 109,481 vulnerable people reached with Water, Sanitation & Hygiene services

Why are we in Iraq? Years of conflict have uprooted millions of people, eroded social cohesion, disrupted access to basic services, destroyed livelihoods and led to increased protection risks. With limited progress towards recovery and development, the situation has become protracted and millions of people across Iraq remain in need of humanitarian assistance.

Conflict has created huge humanitarian needs

Roughly 1.2 million people continued to be displaced in Iraq after years of conflict and hostilities, unable to return to their homes due to trauma and fear of persecution, damaged shelters, and a lack of opportunity to earn an income. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in camps or informal settlements face challenges in accessing critical protection and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services.

Our programs seek to meet the basic needs of displaced people in camps and informal settlements, prioritizing those most vulnerable such as children and women. We provide basic services to address underlying needs, working together with local communities, partners, and authorities to build resilience and long-term change.

Latest achievements

Protection and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

In 2022, our program improved the quality of, and access to, WASH services, reaching 109,481 vulnerable people in northern Iraq. Concern also helped 5,498 IDP children with access to Protection services, ensuring they are cared for and referred to specialized services.

Community engagement

Our participatory approach with local communities led to the establishment of Child Protection and WASH Committeesin all IDPcamps and informal settlements reached by Concern projects, empowering communities and strengthening ownership of the water supply systems and the protection referral system.

Collaboration with National Authorities

We work closely with national authorities through workshops to enable knowledge exchange and promote protection policies. In response to the cholera outbreak, Concern coordinated with relevant stakeholders for the smooth handover of sanitation services and in the development of key messages and Information, Education and Communication material.

International Medical Corps hosts a health education event for children in Garmawa camp just outside Dohuk in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.A young girl in an IDP camp in Northern Iraq receives a delivery of COVID-19 hygiene prevention kits.
Distribution in a refugee camp in North West Iraq.A humanitarian distribution of COVID-19 prevention hygiene kits in Iraq.
A refugee camp in north-west Iraq.Mother Amal with her youngest son Hevi.

How we're helping Iraq

We are working hard to combat suffering and to build resilience in Iraq. We are doing this by establishing programs which will offer protection services for children and tackle gender inequality.