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Federal Foreign Office to provide two million euros in humanitarian aid for Iraq
In response to the growing humanitarian need in Iraq, the Federal Foreign Office is making two million euros available to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for projects in that country. Foreign Minister Steinmeier commented as follows:
The humanitarian situation in Iraq has deteriorated dramatically due to the offensive by the ISIS terrorist group. To date, the escalating violence has forced 640,000 Iraqis to flee to other parts of the country. There are now 1.2 million internally displaced persons in Iraq in urgent need of humanitarian help and solidarity. The Federal Foreign Office has thus decided to provide the International Committee of the Red Cross with two million euros, which is to be invested in relief measures on the ground, for example safe drinking water.
The focus is on measures intended to make it possible for internally displaced persons and those sections of the population affected by the conflict to protect their livelihoods. Furthermore, the ICRC is seeking to provide primary health care and is cooperating closely on this with the Iraqi Red Crescent.
Background information:
The violence in Iraq has been escalating since early June 2014. There are around 1.2 million internally displaced persons in the country. In addition to this, there are roughly 225,000 Syrian refugees living in Iraq, mainly in the Kurdistan‑Iraq Region. The existing infrastructure has been tested to the limit by the new wave of internally displaced persons, who have limited access to water, food and health care in the contested areas. People are dependent on humanitarian assistance but relief organisations are finding it difficult to reach those affected by the crisis.
