Baghdad, Iraq, 20 June 2016 – UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, has stepped up its humanitarian activities in Iraq in order to respond to the rapid influx of Iraqis fleeing Fallujah and its surrounding districts because of the ongoing fighting, and pouring into to Ameriyat Al-Fallujah (AAF), Habbaniya (HTC) and Khaldiyeh cities, to support more than 85,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), including an estimate of 44,000 women and girls.

Between the 16th and the 17th of June 2016, over  2,300 families fled  Fallujah and surrounding districts to escape in search for a safer place. To  
respond to the urgent needs of women and girls, UNFPA, with the support of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), distributed over 1,500 kits with basic feminine hygiene items in Ameriyat Al-Fallujah (AAF), Habbaniya (HTC) and Khaldiyeh cities, thus making it able to reach 5,200 women and girls since the beginning of the Fallujah military operations. During these 2 days, UNFPA, with the support of the US Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) moved its specialized teams to the various locations where the fleeing people had arrived in order to provide some 2,500 women and girls with emergency psychosocial support. UNFPA mobile teams also engaged with the displaced communities, including nearly 500 women and girls in three cities, on the various aspects of gender-based violence (GBV) and reproductive health in group and individual awareness sessions.  

Moreover, and thanks to the support provided by the Government of Japan and the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), UNFPA was able to support the continuous running of three of its delivery rooms in Ameriyat Al-Fallujah (AAF), Habbaniya (HTC) and Khaldiyeh cities so that delivery services and gynaecological consultations happened around the clock without stopping. A mobile Reproductive Health team started its operations in Ameriyat Al-Fallujah on June 16th, going around the city to reach out to women and girls. In addition, two reproductive health clinics were established in Habbaniyeh and Khaldiyeh cities, providing Reproductive Health services to more than 200 IDPs during these two days.

By increasing the scope and scale of its operations, UNFPA is preparing to meet the expected daily increase in the number of IDPs fleeing Fallujah and surrounding districts. UNFPA is also currently establishing three new tent-based women safe spaces in Ameriyat Al-Fallujah (AAF), a new Women Service Center in Khaldiyeh camp and another Women Service Center in Habbaniyeh camp. UNFPA is also establishing a new Reproductive Health clinic in Ameriyat Al-Fallujah, providing also Primary Health Care services and will be managed by the World Health Organization.

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For more information or media inquiries please contact:
Mohamed Megahed: megahed@unfpa.org