OUR IRAQ PARTNERS

OUR WORK IN IRAQ

Embrace’s work with Christians in Iraq is a relatively new development, but one which is much needed. Decades of conflict in Iraq ultimately led to the creation of a power vacuum, lack of security, violence and the emergence of terrorist groups.

In 2014, armed groups of the Islamic State (IS) took control of swathes of land in the north and west of Iraq from the Iraqi central government, creating a humanitarian crisis classed as being at the most serious level. More than 400,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Mosul, the Nineveh Plain and Sinjar fled to the Kurdistan Region, where approximately 200,000 Syrians were already living under refugee status.

With two large groups of displaced people in Kurdistan, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) with limited resources face a challenge when responding to the needs of both IDPs and returnees. Embrace’s work in Iraq is therefore primarily concerned with helping IDPs and returnees to re-establish livelihoods lost through conflict and to contribute to the economic development of marginalised communities.

Iraq is also one of the countries most affected by the climate crisis, with reduced rainfall and extreme temperatures. We are working with Christian partners to help communities understand and adapt to these challenges.