Emergency Shelter and WASH assistance for IDPs Affected by Conflict in Iraq

By 31st December 2014, the estimated number of IDPs in KR-I was 488,906. Hundreds of thousands of IDP families sought refuge in various types of buildings, including schools, abandoned and unfinished buildings, open sites, public, religious, and community buildings, hotels, and rented properties. KR-I and Dohuk Governorate are one of the coldest parts of Iraq, with temperatures in the mountainous areas falling below zero during the winter period. A race against the clock was on to ensure that IDPs would be protected against the harsh winter weather. The Government and partners were unable to ensure that all IDPs would have a place in camps by the start of winter, and IDPs living in schools were prioritized for camps first. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) decided to concentrate its efforts on IDPs living in unfinished and abandoned buildings. NRC set up and chaired a technical working group (TWiG) for shelter interventions in unfinished and abandoned buildings under the leadership of the main Shelter cluster. As a result, shelter agencies were able to come up with a typology and prioritization of interventions for IDPs living in unfinished and abandoned buildings. The typology included three categories: Type 1, where sealing off kits and non-food items (NFIs) would be the most appropriate intervention; Type 2, where sealing off with plastic sheeting would be difficult due to the size of the openings and exposure to the elements; and Type 3, where IDPs lived in 'skeletons' requiring a complex technical solution. NRC decided to target both Type 1 and Type 2 sites and intervene in the two coldest districts in the Governorate, Amedy and Dohuk districts. The organization recognized several risks in carrying out this project, including private landowners not agreeing to NRC carrying out work on their property, the Government not agreeing to work in certain unfinished public buildings, IDPs moving before the works were completed, landlords not honouring their commitment not to evict IDPs, and some beneficiaries being cut off by snow. To ensure the sustainability of the project and to prevent short-term results, NRC ensured that all private building owners entered into an agreement with NRC, the IDP households, and witnessed by the Government, agreeing not to evict the families for 9 months after the work was completed and to allow them to stay rent-free. In relation to public buildings, the relevant local authorities entered into agreements with NRC confirming that works could proceed and IDPs could stay rent-free for 9 months. During the period 1 October 2014 – 31 December 2014, NRC's priority was to finalize as many WASH and Shelter works in the unfinished and abandoned buildings and to distribute all of the NFIs as early as possible. Activities during the reporting period included continuing recruitment of national and international staff, tendering for rehabilitation works, procurement of NFIs and sealing kits, identification of 100 families for phase 2 shelter upgrades, distribution of winter NFI kits, implementation of shelter and WASH works, meetings with local authorities, verification of cash distribution beneficiaries, monitoring of ongoing shelter and WASH works, and commencement of hygiene promotion activities. The total number of NFIs distributed by type included heaters, plastic sheets, blankets, kitchen sets, family hygiene kits, water containers, and dignity kits. The total number of people receiving NFIs by sex and type was 2757 males and 2838 females. No cash distribution activities took place during the reporting period, but it was planned to start in January 2015. In the Shelter and Settlements sector, 611 households received emergency shelter assistance, with 310 households receiving assistance pursuant to SPHERE standards. The percentage of total affected populations in the program area receiving emergency shelter assistance was 17%, with 51.36% males and 48.64% females. The total USD amount and percentage of approved project budgets for emergency/transitional shelter spent on goods and services produced in the affected host country was 47,720 USD, representing 9% of the budget. In the Water, Sanitation, and Health sector, 3857 individuals received direct hygiene promotion activities, and 3364 individuals directly benefited from sanitation infrastructure.