Today’s post-ISIL Iraq faces multiple challenges, with over two million Internally Displaced People (IDPs) still unable to return home due to prevailing security threats, extensive damage to public infrastructure, homes and lack of opportunities for employment and income.

 Almost 3.9 million Iraqis have chosen to return to their towns and cities of origin in an effort to rebuild their lives and they are facing similar challenges. Moreover, seven years on, over 250,000 Syrians remain in protracted displacement in Iraq, primarily in the Kurdistan Region. This complex crisis will continue to impact heavily on the daily lives of Iraqis across the country; and more so, on those from marginalised groups.

To ensure swift and smooth recovery in post-ISIL Iraq, UNDP’s Iraq Crisis Response and Resilience Programme (ICRRP) learning experience of the 2014-2016 period calls for comprehensive, integrated programming that harnesses the strengths of different programme components to increase the local multiplier effect, covers the broad range of needs and addresses the different levels of coordination with communities and government.

Lessons learned also show that there is a need to tailor assistance to socio-economic conditions that are distinctively different among the target areas and beneficiary groups, addressing underlining factors for conflicts, and laying the foundation for longer-term recovery.

To cater for the highly diverse situations in affected communities, UNDP’s ICRRP Iraq has adapted the well-established area-based approach, to identify and respond to the specific needs emerging within each individual community.  

Using a geographic “area” as the entry point for more effective interventions, assistance is provided to a variety of different community-identified groups, including members of the host community, IDPs, returnees and refugees. Groups and individuals assisted are identified through community beneficiary identification.