HUMANITARIAN NEEDS & KEY FIGURES
Three years of continuous conflict and economic stagnation have impacted nearly every aspect of Iraqi society. More people are vulnerable and in need of assistance now than at any time during the previous years. During 2017, humanitarians estimate that as many as 11 million Iraqis will require some form of humanitarian assistance. This figure represents the aggregate, rather than absolute number of people who will require some form of assistance. In some cases, a single person is counted several times in determining the overall level of need. This reflects the complex reality of Iraq and the changing vulnerabilities many Iraqis are expected to experience during the year.
Partners estimate that up to 4.2 million internally displaced people may need assistance. Of these, 1.1 million are expected to be resident in camps and emergency sites and 3.1 million to live in host communities. Partners also estimate that 1.9 million returnees will require assistance including 1.5 million people who are expected to return at some point during the year and 400,000 of the 1.2 million who have already returned home in previous years. At least 3 million Iraqis living in host communities and 1.4 million Iraqis living in newly retaken areas, including 800,000 people in Mosul city and 600,000 in surrounding areas, are expected to require assistance. Up to 300,000 people are expected to remain in areas outside Government control for at least a portion of the year, primarily in western Anbar and 230,000 Syrian refugees are expected to remain in Iraq and to require continuing assistance.
IMPACT OF THE CRISIS
The humanitarian crisis in Iraq remains one of the largest and most volatile in the world. The pace of displacement over the past three years is nearly without precedent. In 2014, over 2.5 million people were displaced in Iraq; in 2015, an additional million were forced to flee. During the past year, nearly 700,000 people in areas impacted by the conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have been newly displaced. Every one of the nine major military campaigns during 2016 has created new displacement. Over 3 million Iraqis are currently displaced, living in 3,700 locations across the country; more than one million displaced and refugees are in the Kurdistan Region. In 2017, depending on the intensity and length of fighting in Mosul, Hawiga and Tel Afar, as many as 1.2 million additional civilians may be forced from their homes