“In order to tackle some of the most severe aspects of the humanitarian crisis which have hit Iraq, and Mosul in particular, we have decided to allocate a 1.5 million euro aid package through the Italian Cooperation service to help the displaced Iraqi population and Syrian refugees living in Iraq,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano, who specified that the interventions will be carried out by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS).
More specifically the Italian Cooperation service will fund multilateral initiatives to improve the living conditions of children, and carry out humanitarian demining.
The Italian Cooperation service will allocate 1 million euros to UNICEF to provide assistance to women through the promotion of psychological and social activities, life-saving programmes for mothers and infants, and nutritional support plans. A 500,000 euro contribution will be allocated to UNMAS to carry out humanitarian demining, risk education and to enhance the capacity building of local authorities, with a view to making it easier for humanitarian partners to access emergency zones and help displaced peoples to return safely to their countries of origin.
These are not the only actions that the Italian Cooperation service will carry out to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Iraq in 2017. At least another grant of 2.5 million euros will be allocated to honour the commitment Italy expressed during the Washington Conference this past July.
