Solace for Displaced Iraqis
Cash-based assistance provides effective and flexible
support to Iraqi IDPs and Syrian refugees
Modern-day Iraq is the scene of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with 10 million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. While the battle for influence in the country is unfolding in Mosul, an increasing number of families are fleeing into Iraqi Kurdistan. This ethnically and religiously diverse region, hosting Sunni and Shia Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and Iraqi Turkmens, has proven both resilient and hospitable. Despite a drop in global oil prices, and faced with challenges in its relationship with the federal government in Baghdad, the semi-autonomous region has kept its doors open to people fleeing conflict. Besides the many internally displaced persons (IDPs), the region also hosts more than 200,000 Syrians who opted to travel eastwards in their search for safety. An EU-funded cash transfer project, launched earlier this year, is giving both internally displaced Iraqis and Syrian refugees the ability to buy food according to their needs, while investing back into the local economy.
From Vouchers to Cash in Iraq
Providing targeted food assistance to vulnerable people requires looking into the available options to find the best fit in the local context, respecting preferences and cultural backgrounds. Besides providing in-kind food assistance, the World Food Programme (WFP) can opt to provide (electronic) vouchers or cash. Having assessed the viability of cash-based food assistance in Iraq, WFP started a project for 15,000 people living in Akre (Dohuk Governorate) in February 2016. Funded by the EU, WFP started replacing voucher assistance with cash for Iraqi IDPs and Syrian refugees, as markets were still functioning. The advantages of cash transfers in areas where people cannot afford to purchase available food include reduced transport and storage costs. Families often prefer this form of assistance because it offers choice and access to fresh items such as dairy and meat products.
Mixing local tradition with WFP technology, strengthening local markets
In the absence of formal banks, WFP has teamed up with local money transfer agents who are part of a traditional banking system widely used in the region. This is complemented by SCOPE — WFP’s digital beneficiary and transfer management platform — enabling registered beneficiaries to collect the cash at distribution points with their SCOPE cards. These cards, which resemble regular international debit cards, contain information about each family and their cash entitlement, based on how vulnerable they are. Beneficiaries receive a personal access code, or pin code, to access the cash assistance. In addition, the SCOPE card system stores biometric information, such as fingerprints, thus ensuring protection against fraud.
The cash distributed is invested back into the local economy. The spill-over effect is the strengthening of the food supply chain, benefiting local store owners and companies in an area which has lost revenue due to the decline in economic activities. Stefano Santoro, from WFP, is coordinating the project together with partners from Erbil: “There are start-up costs involved in such projects,” he says, “but in the long-run there are many benefits, including financial ones.”
Finding Normality after Mosul
Iraqi IDPs from Mosul face many challenges as they try to rebuild their lives. However, they feel more secure, especially those who had to live under IS-rule, where women were not even allowed to leave the house. Those families who are not living in camps often rent informal housing. Sometimes they have family or friends who can support them. Several Shabak people, a small ethnic group from Northern Iraq, have also found refuge in Kurdish Iraq. One such Shabak family, living in an unfinished house near Akre, said they were very happy with the cash, because it made them feel more normal — being able to shop like anyone else. Nedwa, a mother of five said: “This way I don’t feel like a stranger. It makes me feel more a part of the community.”
Life in Saddam’s Former Prison
Akre’s refugee camp is hosted in a building which used to serve as a prison during Saddam’s rule, but is currently home to Syrian refugees. Compared to displaced Iraqis, Syrians find it harder to obtain housing as they are less familiar with the local situation. Amina, 37, never thought she would find shelter in a former prison. Her three girls and husband fled Syria, even though it was forbidden to travel to Iraqi Kurdistan. Besides the fear of attacks, food prices were severely inflated, making it almost impossible to buy food for the family. Taking the opportunity of a visit to a doctor for her husband’s diabetes, the family hid some belongings under a bus seat, and managed to escape.
“We slept one night under the stars and I thought it would be a long time before we would have a roof over our heads, but thank God, we were given this shelter,” Amina said.
When the food assistance changed from vouchers to cash, the family was very happy. “I prefer cash. I am able to buy more food, as I shop in stores where it’s cheaper,” Amina said. In total the family receives USD100 on a monthly basis. Assessments show that 60 percent of the cash is spent on food, giving people the option to use what’s left over to meet other urgent priorities. “Now I can also buy milk and diapers for my baby, and take her to the doctor when she is sick,” Amina explained.
Expanding Cash-based Assistance in Iraq
This pilot scheme in Iraq, funded by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), has proven a success. The most vulnerable people are provided with food and recipients have reacted positively to the new form of assistance.
Nicholas Hutchison, working for ECHO in Iraq, is hoping the project will be extended to other parts of the country. “Cash is a dignified and flexible form of assistance that, from our perspective, has massive benefits, including bringing more returns for host communities,” he said.
