Local NGOs call for funds, national reconciliation

NGOs working in Iraq continue to express alarm over the deteriorating humanitarian situation facing the local population, according to a press report released on Monday by the NGOs Coordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI). “We’re very pessimistic about the current humanitarian situation,” said NCCI Executive Coordinator Kasra Mofarah from Amman. “We’re especially worried about the coming weeks, because we haven’t seen any kind of political stabilisation yet.” The report reiterates recommendations made at a recent NCCI workshop, held in the Jordanian capital, Amman, from 28 to 30 March. The event was attended by local and international NGOs, UN agencies, representatives from donor nations and Iraqi government authorities. At the workshop, NGOs called for improved coordination of humanitarian activities and for the raising of emergency funds that can be easily accessed on short notice. Mofarah also warned of the dangers of so-called “donor fatigue”: “Contributions from international donors have decreased drastically in the past months as the economic situation has deteriorated,” he said. According to the report, about 1.5 million people have been displaced countrywide since the US-led invasion in 2003. The report also notes that about 26 percent of the population suffer from malnutrition, 20 percent are currently living under the poverty line and tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in the three years of occupation by the US military. “These numbers were announced after a thorough study of the situation and with the help of local NGOs,” Mofarah pointed out, “which have themselves been struggling to support the country’s vulnerable and needy.” Government officials conceded the gravity of the situation. “Nearly 6 percent of the entire population is displaced – it’s very serious,” said Ministry of Displacement and Migration spokesman Sattar Nawruz. “We’ve set up a special commission to study the situation and try to find a solution.” The NCCI report concluded by calling for the peaceful settlement of political differences and for national unity. “NGOs call on the authorities and belligerents to stop the violence and to lay the groundwork for dialogue and national reconciliation,” the paper urged.