Germany provides 28M euros in food assistance for Iraqi IDPs

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Kurdistan24) – The German government contributed 28 million euros to support food assistance for displaced Iraqis across the country, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday.

The “generous contribution” will provide support to nearly 275,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in four governorates across Iraq, a WFP statement confirmed.

Franz-Josef Kremp, the German Ambassador to Iraq, highlighted his country’s readiness to aid those displaced due to the ongoing war with the Islamic State (IS).

“Germany highly appreciates WFP’s efforts to address the needs of the most vulnerable people in Iraq who are in dire need of life-saving assistance,” Kremp said.

“This contribution will help WFP address hunger in places where there is food on the market, but people affected by the conflict cannot afford to buy it,” he added.

The German financial aid will allow WFP to continue using its SCOPE system to manage food assistance for people receiving support from the organization.

“WFP will continue to use SCOPE…in combination with financial services in Iraq such as mobile money,” the UN organization noted.

The aid group explained that families would be sent text messages notifying them “that their electronic credit allocation of around 15 euros per family member has been reloaded.”

With Germany’s donation, the organization said they would be able “to increase the scale and reach of cash-based transfers” to vulnerable Iraqis.

“On behalf of the Iraqi people whose lives have been torn apart by the conflict, we thank [Germany] for this very significant contribution,” WFP Representative Sally Haydock said.

Since 2014, the German government has supported WFP in Iraq with approximately 84 million euros.

Editing by G. H. Renaud