UN wants $173 mn for winter in Iraq

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has called for 173.1 million dollars to address the immediate needs of 1.26 million people across Iraq in need of assistance over the winter.

As the winter season approaches, hundreds of thousands of displaced people are being hit with heavy rains, strong winds, storms and dropping temperatures, especially at night and in the mountain areas of the Kurdistan region, Xinhua reported.

According to OCHA, 1.9 million people have been displaced across Iraq since January, and nearly half of them are in the high altitude areas of the Kurdistan region where temperatures in the winter can fall below zero.

An estimated 516,000 Iraqis are in need of immediate shelter this winter, including weather-appropriate tents, as well as warm clothing, food, heating and cooking fuel, and health services.

Overall, some 5.2 million people are in need of aid across Iraq.

The 173 million dollars is part of a larger humanitarian response plan totalling 2.2 billion dollars.

The requested funds would be invested as follows -- 70.2 million dollars for food, 46.3 million for shelter, 25 million for basic household items, and 23.2 million for health services.