Fleeing Violence, Living Precariously in Northern Iraq

Gabrielle Klein/MSF

 

The recent increase of violence in Iraq has left an estimated 1.8 million people displaced since January, according to official figures, with nearly half of them finding refuge in schools, camps, or unfinished buildings in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).

Hundreds of thousands of people who have reached safer areas in KRG such as Dohuk Governorate are living in precarious conditions, often in overcrowded spaces with a lack of sanitation, which is affecting their health. One camp is ready while others are still being built, and temperatures are dropping.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is trying to help meet the new and increased medical needs by carrying out medical consultations through three mobile clinics in Dohuk. In one of the most poorly equipped camps in Zakho, an MSF team is preparing to install latrines, showers, and washing areas to reduce the risk of an epidemic. In the last month, MSF teams have conducted over 3,500 consultations for displaced people in Iraq.

An estimated 1.8 million people have been displaced in Iraq since January 2014, according to official figures. Nearly half of them have sought refuge in schools, camps or unfinished buildings in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
In Dabin, an MSF team evaluates the needs of those people living in unfinished buildings.
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
For the hundreds of thousands of people who have arrived in the governorate of Dohuk in Iraqi Kurdistan, living conditions remain precarious as winter approaches.
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
Most of the displaced fled with very few of their personal belongings. Winter is particularly harsh in this region and with no windows or heating, living conditions for those living in unfinished buildings will be extremely precarious. In the last month, MSF teams have conducted a total of over 3,500 consultations for displaced people in Iraq.
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
MSF teams are reaching out to the displaced people in Sharya, listening to them, advising them and letting them know that they can access free healthcare at the MSF dispensary in Dalal camp, Zakho.
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
In Zakho, MSF teams have set up a clinic in Dalal camp to provide primary healthcare to those that have been displaced.
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
The local inhabitants of Sharya are doing their best to accommodate the new arrivals, and this hair salon cuts their hair for free.
Gabrielle Klein/MSF
Many families have settled in Sharya and are now living in tents that offer them little protection from bad weather.
Gabrielle Klein/MSF