ACT International Launches Appeal for Displaced Iraqis

GENEVA, July 30, 2008 — The global alliance, Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, has launched a US $800,000 appeal to provide assistance for vulnerable displaced people both inside Iraq and refugees in Syria.

Before the war came to Iraq, humanitarian worker Samuel* traveled from his home in Baghdad to his office in 15 minutes, but today he passes through six checkpoints in only four kilometers on his morning commute. Baghdad is divided by concrete walls and countless checkpoints.

"We enter through one gate and go out of the same gate, so this makes it very hard to get around," says Samuel. "Parents can't always take their children to school or go to work because a street will be closed off if they suspect a bomb. Some parents have stopped taking their children to school altogether."

Samuel works for International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), which recently delivered food and hygiene kits to nearly 3,000 vulnerable families in Baghdad and Mosul as part of efforts with other ACT members. Most Iraqis are dependent on the government's food rationing programme, but the availability of food in Iraq today is worse than under Saddam Hussein's regime, says Samuel.

Iraqis also face other shortages. The government provides only two hours of electricity per day. Those who can afford it pay private companies for electricity. Water—when it is available—is undrinkable. Local public hospitals lack vaccines, beds, instruments, and perform only the simplest procedures. Private hospitals are in better condition but most Iraqis cannot afford them.

On the day of a recent distribution, Samuel is there to oversee the hand-off of supplies to each of the families. Names are checked off and signatures taken to record every transaction.

Each parcel is designed to supplement a family's basic nutrition and hygiene needs, and includes soap, laundry powder, spaghetti, cheese and beans in addition to other items. Vulnerable people assisted include internally displaced persons (IDPs), disabled, extended families, single-headed households and the elderly.

As part of their continued response, ACT members including International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) are working together to assist vulnerable families and communities in Iraq and Syria. Members are also working on additional proposals for Lebanon and Jordan.

Through a coordinated alliance appeal, ACT plans to support more than 6,000 families as well as 800 children and youth. Assistance programmes implemented over the next year include the distribution of emergency food and non-food items like hygiene supplies, vocational skills training for youth, non-formal education for children, health awareness programmes for vulnerable women and children, and improved access to clean water.

Due to the shortages, road blocks and checkpoints, the process of getting humanitarian supplies to the families that need them the most requires careful coordination. ACT members purchase supplies locally to help the economy and members work through various churches, Islamic charities, and local non-governmental organizations to get lists of families in need and to secure a location to store and distribute the supplies. Additionally, ACT members coordinate their efforts together with each other and other humanitarian actors.

Up to 2.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) continue to be in need of food, water, housing, medical care and education for their children, according to a UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) report in January. Additionally, another estimated 2.5 million refugees have sought safety outside the country. The Iraqi Red Crescent Society estimates that 38 percent of IDPs in Iraq are women and children.

"Food and hygiene supplies will continue to be critical. We have heard that the government is going to eliminate food ration cards," says Samuel. ACT members have also worked previously with Iraq's Ministry of Social Affairs and with the Ministry of Education to repair schools and orphanages.

Many humanitarian workers have left Iraq, and some are now based in Jordan, but Samuel says he will not consider leaving. "I went to Jordan years ago but without adequate work, your savings will run out," he says. "And we have learned how to deal with not enough electricity, food, and water. We hear bombs all the time, but we have become accustomed to the fear."

*Samuel's name was changed to protect his identity.