Additional UK support for Iraqis in need
UK humanitarian support for Iraq now stands at £5 million.
The UK will provide an additional £2 million of emergency humanitarian relief to help tens of thousands of ordinary Iraqis in serious need, Prime Minister David Cameron announced today (18 June 2014).
This second package of support will provide emergency medicines, including polio and measles vaccinations, food and basic shelter to women, men and children affected by the crisis. It will also enable aid agencies on the ground to trace and reunite families who have been separated while fleeing from the violence.
An initial £3 million of support was announced last Saturday (14 June 2014) by International Development Secretary Justine Greening. Today’s announcement brings to £5 million the total direct humanitarian support that is being provided by the UK for this crisis.
Justine Greening said:
The ongoing violence in Iraq means there are hundreds of thousands of ordinary Iraqi women, men and children suffering terrible hardship on a daily basis.
Britain took rapid action last weekend to assist with the humanitarian fallout by providing water, sanitation and medicines and funding UN mobile protection teams for vulnerable women and girls.
This further package of support will deliver food, vaccinations and shelter and enable UN agencies to trace and reunite families who have been separated while fleeing from violence.
Notes to editors
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An initial £3 million of support, announced on Saturday 14 June, comprises £2 million via the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) mechanism and a further £1 million for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
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From this initial package, the UNHCR funding will establish camps and provide dedicated safety and welfare teams to identify vulnerable people, including women and girls, and help get them the support they need. Meanwhile, £2 million allocated for through the RRF will provide: * Emergency and primary health care for 65,000 Iraqis, ensuring the needs of people with disabilities, injuries and women and girls are identified and supported * Clean water and hygiene kits for 45,000 displaced people, which will include dignity supplies for women; * Psychosocial support and support for gender-based violence victims for up to 10,000 women * Clearance of unexploded ordnance across all the land used for displacement camps.
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The additional £2 million announced today will provide emergency medicines, food and basic shelter to women, men and children affected by the crisis. It will also enable aid agencies on the ground to trace and reunite families who have been separated while fleeing from the violence.
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Partners are undertaking continued assessment of the evolving humanitarian needs and this includes considering the needs of vulnerable girls and women. UK humanitarian support to Iraq will build directly on outcomes from the prevention of sexual violence initiative hosted by the Foreign Secretary last week.
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