Between a pandemic and a hard place: Durable solutions elusive for Iraq’s most vulnerable

The humanitarian context in Iraq remains fragile, nearly three years since the
official end of military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL). People face protracted displacement and unemployment, lack social
cohesion and basic infrastructure, and continue to live with political and economic
uncertainty. Iraq is still home to 1.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) and
246,000 Syrian refugees. The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed almost 17,000 lives and aggravated
existing vulnerabilities. Containment measures, including curfews and movement
restrictions, increased unemployment and cut access to essential services. More
recently, government-led camp closures have left thousands with nowhere to go,
unable to make safe or dignified returns to their areas of origin. To understand how affected people feel about the humanitarian response, Ground Truth Solutions (GTS) partnered with the Iraq Information Centre (IIC) to interview 575 IDPs, 210 returnees, and 139 refugees across Iraq between January and April 2021.