Since 2003, Acted Iraq has been providing humanitarian assistance to those affected by the Syrian Refugee Crisis and Iraqi mass displacement. Acted’s areas of intervention have increasingly shifted towards rehabilitation, recovery, and stabilisation, with a focus on strengthening national systems and actors while increasing the opportunities of returnees, IDPs and host communities, focusing on marginalised groups.
Iraqis have known little of peace or prosperity for forty years; with each generation facing its own unique crisis. Today the country remains in a deeply fragile situation following the end of hostilities with ISIL three years ago; a conflict which continues to affect the physical and mental well-being, living standards, and capacity for resilience and recovery of millions of Iraqis. Social, ethnic and sectarian tensions persist on multiple fronts.
In 2021, 1.3 million people remain displaced in Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are unable to return home, the main reasons being destroyed shelters and lack of economic opportunities. Acted has been operating in Iraq since 2003, addressing both immediate humanitarian needs and providing durable solutions for safe returns.
Acted Iraq responds to the humanitarian needs of conflict-affected communities, while supporting their efforts to create opportunities and solutions for recovery. With the shifting political climate in Iraq, coupled with the continued IDP camp closures, Acted’s programmatic approach focuses on durable solutions and safe and dignified returns to areas of origin. Support in rebuilding livelihood opportunities is at the core of Acted’s programming, with interventions at each stage of recovery and return, from the reconstruction of war-damaged shelters and community-level infrastructures to the access to services and strengthening of civil society actors. Acted also has extensive programming in the areas of return to facilitate reintegration, through rehabilitation of shelters and community infrastructure, mobile camp management, WASH and market infrastructure.