The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq represented a huge challenge to the country’s already fragile health system, weakened by decades of socio-political unrest, wars and internal conflicts.
Among those who have been most affected by the invisible spread of the epidemic, there are above all the over 1.3 million internally displaced persons and over 4.7 million returnees who live in conditions of survival in many parts of the country. One of the most alarming threats relates to life inside the camps: that of Ninewa, in northwestern Iraq, hosts the largest number of returnees. Their living conditions worsened as a result of the epidemic and subsequent containment measures, including travel halts, which impacted the ability of over 270,000 returnees to access health care services, including access to preventative services. and cure for COVID-19.
“In the Hammam Al-Alil camp, where we have been working since the last conflict officially ended only in 2017, there have been cases of people affected by COVID-19″, says Valeria Anzalone, INTERSOS humanitarian worker in Iraq, “the situation in the camps is dramatic. Hygienic measures are often impossible to maintain as well as social distancing between people. When your home is a tent where every minimum space must be shared with other people, respecting the safety distances is the last thing you can do”.
From April onwards there has been an accelerated increase in COVID-19 confirmed cases and, in parallel, an increase in poverty across the country due to the drastic drop in economic activities, due to the lockdown period that marked the the whole world and which is now partially present in Iraq. “We have never seen an effective reduction of the epidemic in the country,” says Valeria, “the cases have continued to increase, a steady growth that seems to have suffered no repercussions since the general closure period”.
In the months of June and July there was a considerable increase, reaching around 2000-3000 new cases registered per day. “For displaced people living in camps, the risk of coming into contact with people with the virus is much higher. For these people there is only humanitarian aid which is currently drastically reduced due to restrictions on movement within the country”.
The month of August will be crucial for the spread of the epidemic. A growth in the number of people affected by COVID-19 is expected to reach an unprecedented peak. To date, 129,000 have been infected by the pandemic throughout the country, a country that does not have the capacity to deal with an emergency of this magnitude.
Valeria is well aware of the precariousness of health infrastructures throughout Iraq and talks about the problems that have risen further in a historical period like this: “Most hospitals lack adequate equipment as well as specialized medical personnel. For this reason, 11 ad hoc health facilities have been set up for COVID-19 emergency in the cities of Mosul (1) and Baghdad (10), a number undoubtedly inappropriate given the rapid spread of the virus. This means that very often patients with less severe symptoms are sent home, thus increasing the possibility of contagion even in family environments”.
Iraq lacks all the necessary measures to mitigate the spread of the epidemic: gloves, masks, sanitizers that are often lacking even in hospitals. “Among those who are most accusing the side effects of COVID-19 are minors”, continues Valeria, “In a country where 10 million children do not go to school, the lockdown has increased even more the number. For many of them, the risk is often child labor or early marriage.
In a situation of similar complexity, the work of humanitarian actors often represents the only glimmer of salvation. INTERSOS, already from the first week of March, has started several health-related projects in Ba’aj and Telafar, an intense training activity on the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 for the medical staff of the hospitals and the staff of other organizations. With the worsening of the general situation, the activities required a total readjustment to the restrictions imposed by the government to reduce the infection.
INTERSOS teams have taken steps to start supporting 7 health facilities through the training of internal medical staff and volunteers in local communities on communicating the risk related to COVID-19, in order to reach the highest possible number of people. Both inside and outside the clinics. The INTERSOS education team has adapted the activities started in the previous months. No one is to be left behind. This was possible by maintaining contact with minors also through the distribution of school kits and support for study from home and in camps for displaced persons with the use of e-learning platforms. In coordination with teachers and principals, a team of volunteer teachers was formed to organize home lessons for the most vulnerable students.
“During the months of lockdown, domestic violence has undergone a considerable increase and there have been many reports that have arrived”, says Valeria, “the highest number occurred especially in urban areas where there was also a growth in number of suicides, especially of women victims of this violence”.
In order not to interrupt the paths of protection and support for these women, INTERSOS continues to keep in touch with them through telephone sessions aimed primarily at continuing the psychological path. To this, from June, there has also been added economic support and legal support for the most needy families.