Despite a recent period of stability in the country, Iraq has far from recovered from its latest tragedy. The aftermath of war and a global pandemic have propelled Iraq into a new phase of its long-running crisis. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been defeated, and many displaced families have returned …
LOS ANGELES, CA, April 7, 2021—The Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND) has expanded its support to Syrian refugees in Erbil, Iraq, by providing a $100,000 grant to International Medical Corps, a global humanitarian organization. The project, which started in March 2021, will last for nine months and deliver lifesaving health services and equipment, including …
Providing Lifesaving Support to the Survivors of the Explosion in Lebanon On Tuesday, August 4, a massive explosion tore through the city of Beirut. Because we were already in the country providing a range of health services, we were able to respond immediately and provide help to survivors and support to hospitals and health facilities …
Salim Al-Saffer, an International Medical Corps Community Health Officer in Iraq, still remembers clearly the scene he witnessed last fall: a young girl, off on her own at the Jada Displacement Camp southeast of Mosul, sobbing her heart out. Salim and a couple of his colleagues had spotted the child as they made their daily …
Recovering from one crisis after another, Iraq and its people have demonstrated a profound ability to stand up to adversity. Decades of war, sectarian violence and sanctions have taken their toll. The country’s most recent hardship—the fight against the terrorist organization ISIS in 2014–2017—caused death, injury and displacement on a massive scale, as well as …
There’s little space for youth recreational activities at the Khazir displacement camp in northern Iraq, nor is there a place where adolescents can relax and enjoy other informal social interaction. Limited resources and the lack of opportunities to engage in friendly competitive activities have added to the emotional burden for “tweens,” young teens and near-adult …
After more than two years of occupation, and following a nine-month-long battle between the so-called Islamic State and Iraqi-led forces, the vibrant city of Mosul—Iraq’s second-largest city and capital of Nineveh Province—was liberated from the Islamic State in July 2017. Six months later, the Iraqi government declared victory over the terrorist organization, known worldwide for …
This month, Syria’s relentless civil war is more than a decade old. The humanitarian crisis left in the wake of this conflict will only grow in the years to come. The fighting, which has claimed an estimated 500,000 lives, has caused more than half of the country’s pre-war population of 21 million to flee their …
Amani, a 29-year old widow from Iraq and mother of four, poignantly describes the day she was forced into marriage at the age of 16 as “the death of the girl in me.” Amani remembers crying and shouting, protesting her parent’s decision about the arranged marriage—but her pleas fell on deaf ears. On her wedding …
For those who must leave it all behind …