UN to host conference on Iraq crisis

A major two-day international conference will be held next month to consider how to deal with the humanitarian crisis being faced by millions of Iraqis who have been displaced from their homes in the war-torn country.

The United Nations refugee agency, which is hosting the event, has invited all 192 member states, 65 international organisations and 60 non-governmental organisations to participate in the conference.

"With displacement continuing at an estimated rate of upto 50,000 a month, the humanitarian needs are growing by the day and we need to do everything we can to try to get help to desperate people," UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson Ron Redmond said on Tuesday.

The ministerial-level meeting, scheduled for April 17 and 18 in Geneva, 'will examine the humanitarian dimensions of the displacement crisis, identify the enormous needs, and seek to forge a common international effort to address those needs, including through sharing the burden that's now being borne by neighbouring states'.

Approximately two million Iraqis live in neighbouring countries including Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey.

Besides, 1.9 million are displaced within their country, 'many in increasingly desperate conditions', Redmond said.

Many of them find their resources dwindling, and host communities are being strained by the influx of displaced people.

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, known as UNAMI, estimates that over 15 million Iraqis -- including refugees, internally displaced people, those facing food insecurity, widows and the disabled -- are considered extremely vulnerable.

In Iraq, with a total population of 26 million, Redmond said four million are dependent on food assistance, and only 60 percent has access to the public food distribution system.

Approximately 70 percent of the population lacks access to adequate water supplies, while 80 percent does not have effective sanitation.

Almost a quarter of children are chronically malnourished, and the unemployment rate hovers at over 50 percent.

In January, UNHCR launched a $60 million appeal to allow the agency to continue providing humanitarian assistance in the region, and of this fund, a third is targeted at helping tens of thousands of the most vulnerable among the IDPs.

"Providing that help is extremely difficult because of the dire security situation in much of the country," Redmond said of the agency's staff located in seven areas within Iraq working with almost 20 partners, most of whom are Iraqi.

"Despite the many limitations and in the face of enormous needs, the work done by our staff inside Iraq has still managed to benefit tens of thousands of internally displaced people and the families and the communities caring for them," he added.