Addressing hygiene needs of IDP population with UNICEF

Due to the ongoing violence and unrest in many parts of Iraq hundreds of thousands of people have sought refuge in the Kurdish region of Iraq (KRI). Services in the Kurdish cities, villages and camps are overcrowded. Sanitation, water and waste management are in some of these places from poor quality which lead to bad hygiene conditions. A lack of proper hygiene can lead to all kind of diseases as diarrhea and skin diseases.

DORCAS partners with UNICEF to address the hygiene needs of IDP population in 6 different sites around Dohuk. The distribution will be supported by DORCAS Mobile Medical Teams. The Medical Teams will visit the villages shortly after the distribution to provide, as usual, primary health care and health and hygiene promotion. Health and hygiene promotion will make the project more sustainable with positive effects on the short and long term.

After the third distribution round of hygiene kits, Dorcas Iraq carried out a preliminary Post Distribution Monitoring in order to assess the impact of the project. The results of the survey reveal that 83% of beneficiaries indicated that their hygiene condition improved. Also for mobile clinics, around 90% of the beneficiaries stated that their health status had improved.

Currently Dorcas is distributing 650 monthly hygiene kits for a period 6 months, providing over 7,300 beneficiaries with essential care to improve their hygiene status.

An impression of a distribution:

01 August 2016