Official report: UN served +4.2 million in Iraq in 2021
Shafaq News/ The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Iraq released its annual report for the year 2021, contributing to Iraq achieving its own development goals, to build back better and to leave no one behind.
The report highlights UN serving more than 4.2 million beneficiaries, including displacement affected populations, increasing access to services in priority sectors as well as implementing 629 infrastructure projects rehabilitating thousands of private and public buildings, including schools and medical centers.
As a result, 51% of returnee households are now living in locations with adequate access to services and infrastructure, especially water supply. Moreover, around 152,500 refugees,
IDPs, returnees, and other vulnerable groups received multipurpose cash assistance in 2021.
According to the report, over 40,000 youth received technical and vocational trainings while thousands of Iraqi workers benefited from decent job opportunities in the most promising economic sectors. Other interventions include supporting Iraq’s human rights through strengthening the investigative capacity of the Fact-Finding Committee to promote accountability for human rights violations and abuses, improving government services to protect women and girls from domestic and gender-based violence, and strengthening public healthcare services.
In addition, the UN Iraq also facilitated 416 partnerships in sustainable development, conflict prevention, and mitigation processes, which reached 2.5 million people from vulnerable groups (women, girls, children, IDPs, refugees) in fragile settings, including nine refugee and 26 IPD camps. Eight Area Based Coordination mechanisms (ABC) have been put in place in complex areas of return to ensure effective coordination and joint planning with local government structures to facilitate returns of IDPs.
More than 5 million m2 of contaminated land were cleared of explosive ordnance in the main cities of Mosul, Fallujah, and Ramadi. Also, over four million people were also reached with campaigns to boost vaccine confidence and raise awareness of the SDGs, their importance for Iraq, and current and future climate change impacts.
"2021 was a challenging year for Iraq, marked by a series of negative socio-economic impacts from Covid-19 that continue to submerge the country with unprecedented challenges."
"Despite all these challenges, UN Iraq continues to support the Government of Iraq’s efforts in reducing poverty and improving the living conditions of vulnerable people, resolving the IDPs situation, strengthening equitable services delivery, fighting climate change, and enhancing Iraq’s thrive towards achieving its own ambition towards the Sustainable Development," said Irena Vojáčková-Sollorano, UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.
