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During April 2017 (reporting period), the Iraq Internally Displaced Persons Information Centre (Iraq IIC) handled 5,563 calls, pushing the total number of calls handled passed 74,000. In April, callers identified cash and food as priority needs, with each accounting for 25% of total calls. Requests for information on Government services made up 14% of calls, with calls related to health accounting for 8% of calls.

During this reporting period, 31% of cash callers said shelter/NFIs was their primary need, with the majority of such calls made from camps in Ninewa (27%), where kerosene for cooking, mattresses and blankets were cited as main needs. Calls requesting cash for health needs accounted for 29% of cash calls, with Ninewa (20%), Sulaymaniyah (16%), Diyala (6%), and Salah al-Din (6%) ranking as top call locations for cash-for-health requests. Six percent of cash callers requested cash to cover food, health, and shelter related debt. In April, 34% of calls from Diyala requested cash assistance, with food and shelter being cited as primary needs.

For 41% of food callers, information on how to register for food assistance was a priority need, with 26% of such callers being women calling from Erbil (29%) and Ninewa (28%). Thirty-seven percent of food callers asked why their names had been removed from food distribution lists. Of the 6% of food callers that said food vouchers are not enough to cover needs, 68% called from Ninewa (of which more than two-thirds were from camps) and 20% called from Anbar. Some callers from camps in Ninewa said they are selling food assistance to pay for food items such as fresh vegetables and alternative types of pulses. Twenty percent of calls relating to Government services requested information on Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM) cash grants to cover food needs.

In line with trends over the past 12 months, calls relating to Government services ranked in the top three caller requests, accounting for 14% of all calls in April. During April, 78% of Government services calls were requests for information on MoDM cash grants, with 41% of those callers requesting shelter/NFIs. The majority of these calls were made from camps: 71% were made from Qayarrah Al-Jadah while the majority of the MoDM cash grant calls form out-of-camp locations were from Ninewa (30%) and Salah al-Din (21%). Requests for restitution for damaged assets, which accounted for 10% of total Government services calls, were largely from people who originate from Ninewa (67%), Anbar (14%), and Salah al-Din (12%).

Nine percent of total calls in April, were related to the Protection Cluster; of these calls, 56% came from out-of-camp locations and 63% of calls from camps were requests for legal assistance to help replace lost documentation, register births, deaths, and marriages, update their PDS cards, and find detained family members and friends. Ninewa was the top caller location for legal assistance, with 25% of legal calls being made from out-of-camp locations and 75% of legal calls being made from camp locations in Ninewa.

For 8% of Iraq IIC callers in April shelter/NFIs was a primary need, with 85% of these calls coming from camps. Of those camp-based callers, 67% of calls were made from camps in Ninewa, in particular Qayarrah Airstrip and Qayarrah Jadah. Callers largely sought NFI support in the form of kerosene for cooking, mattresses, blankets and as the end of the month drew to a close callers increasingly requested summerisation items. Calls relating to the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) cluster made up 4% of calls in April. Feedback that camp management was not listening to IDP needs was a top complaint in Haj Ali (50%). There was an increase in reports of snakes and spiders in camps located in the Al-Hamdaniya area.

Health calls accounted for 8% of total calls during April. Of those calls, 38% were made from camp locations, with 67% of camp health calls being made from camps in Ninewa, in particular Qayarrah Airstrip and Qayarrah Jadah. These callers requested health assistance primarily for secondary and tertiary healthcare reasons. While Ninewa topped the list for out-of-camp health calls, 100% of calls requesting psychosocial support in April were made from Erbil and Dahuk.

In April 2% of total callers cited Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) as a primary need, with 85% of calls relating to water access. Of those calls, 65% were made from camps, with camps in Ninewa accounting for the lions share (87%). In out-of-camp settings, the majority of calls relating to water access came from Mosul City. Of the calls relating to poor sanitation, 86% were made from camps, in particular Qayarrah Airstrip (29%), Kirkuk Laylan (18%), Haj Ali (18%), and Ameriyat Al-Falluja (12%).

For the fourth consecutive month, Ninewa topped the list of caller locations, accounting for 46% of total calls, followed by Erbil (14%), and Dahuk (9%). For Ninewa-based callers, food was a top priority, with 28% of callers requesting food assistance, followed by cash, which accounted for 21% of total Ninewa calls. The call centre received its first calls from Al Jarabee camp in Telafar in April, with callers citing a range of needs including camp security, food, in-date medicines, water, and sanitation. For more information on calls from Ninewa, please see the Iraq IIC Ninewa Monthly Summary for April.

Of people calling from camp locations to seek information on returns, 87% were made from Ninewa and 13% from Anbar. Returnees calling from out-of-camp locations primarily called from Ninewa (79%), Anbar (10%), Salah al-Din (6%), Diyala (4%), and Baghdad (1%). Of calls made by returnees in Ninewa, 78% had returned to their area of origin in East Mosul. For returnees to East Mosul, 22% requested cash assistance, 19% information on Government services, 13% legal assistance, and 5% called about employment opportunities. Anbar returnees cited Government-related services as a priority need (42%), with people requesting information on restitution for damaged assets and Government salaries.

All Iraq IIC reports are available for download on the humanitarian community portal: humanitarianresponse.info.

Read more:
Iraq IDP Information Centre Report, April 2017 - ReliefWeb