Flexible funding from Sweden enables WFP to provide lifesaving assistance to displaced families in Iraq

The funds will support up to 327,000 displaced Iraqis and Syrian refugees living in camps, with lifesaving assistance in the form of cash distributions and food baskets.

“With the unprecedented levels of global food-insecurity we see today, WFP’s efforts to fight hunger are more crucial than ever,” said Jonas Lovén, Sweden’s ambassador to Iraq. “We welcome this allocation to help vulnerable displaced people and refugees in Iraq who need our urgent support in these difficult times, and hope that more donors will step up.”

The multilateral contribution will ensure WFP is able to make critical operational funding decisions, allocating funds to where they are needed most.

It comes at a time when WFP and its partners in Iraq face funding shortfalls amid rising costs.

This will ensure that Iraq’s many internally displaced people (IDPs) continue to receive support as rising food prices are making it harder to put food on the table.

“Despite Iraq’s ongoing transition towards development and stability, humanitarian needs remain a reality,” said Ally Raza Qureshi, WFP Iraq Representative. “Hundreds of thousands of people are supported by WFP in camps based on their food insecurity levels. And while durable peace and conditions for return are not guaranteed for these protracted displacement cases, their immediate food security needs must be met to save lives and maintain peace and harmony.”

WFP Iraq can now continue provide assistance under one of the core pillars of its crisis response in the country, while working to boost resilience-building activities that improve livelihoods, ensuring that vulnerable people are able to provide an income for themselves and their families.

This includes supporting farmers with training and provision of agricultural assets, providing skills and vocational training to youth and supporting the Government of Iraq to implement the National School Feeding Programme for young children.  There is also a focus on reforming and improving the social protection schemes in Iraq including prioritization of the most vulnerable households, with special attention to the Public Distribution System for food rations (PDS) which covers most of Iraq’s population.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

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