“The humanitarian crisis in Iraq remains one of the largest and most volatile in the world” - UNOCHA
Over the last 3 years, the humanitarian situation in Iraq has continued to deteriorate. The people of Iraq are in the midst of one of the biggest crises in living memory. More than 3 million Iraqis have fled from their homes, and are currently displaced in over 3,700 locations across the country.
10.3 million people are in desperate need of medical assistance, 8.3 million people don’t have access to clean water or sanitation facilities, and another 2.9 million people don’t know where their next meal will come from. 23 hospitals and more than 230 primary health facilities have been damaged or destroyed.
The crisis in Iraq is perhaps best comparable to the desperate situation still occurring in Syria, in terms of the number of people displaced, hungry and frightened for their lives. Due to the sheer extent of suffering worldwide, we are facing the biggest global humanitarian crisis since 1945, according to a recent statement from the UN.
Nearly 3.5 million Iraqi children are either out of school, or attend only irregularly. The UN estimates that 3.6 million children – a shocking 1 in 5 – are at serious risk of death, injury or abduction. Without protection, these children are increasingly vulnerable. Many have been wounded by the ongoing violence, and more bear severe psychological scars from witnessing the traumatic reality of conflict.
In the city of western Mosul, up to 750,000 people are estimated to be largely inaccessible to humanitarian aid agencies, meaning that they cannot access life-saving support. Food is very scarce and there have been numerous cases of death by starvation in West Mosul recorded. Desperate residents of Mosul are forced to drink filthy water, and many families cannot afford to purchase food at inflated prices, their cash reserves depleted after three years of escalating violence.
Any medical clinics still operating have long run out of medicine and other basic supplies. Many roads are impassable and contaminated by explosive devices. Recurrent bouts of violence mean that thousands of civilians are being killed each day.
Human Appeal is one of the only NGOs in the world with an office in East Mosul delivering directly to the desperately suffering civilians of the city. We have already provided aid to over 20,000 vulnerable people from Mosul. We’re currently working to distribute flour, food parcels and WASH facilities. With your help, we can rehabilitate schools and provide water wells and water purification units.
Just £35 will provide a vulnerable family with enough food for one month. £65 buys an emergency kit, containing blankets, food, water, clothing and fuel for cooking. To repair and reopen a partially destroyed school, we need to raise £10,000 from our generous donors. It’s a small price to pay to give Iraqi children the chance to go to school again.
The lives of Iraq’s neediest people are in your hands. You can save an innocent life today.
