UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...

It has been reported that new IDPs, as well as armed groups, are occupying properties left
by residents forced to flee, especially in Baghdad. Under the new Baghdad Security Plan
(Operation Imposing Law), those illegally occupying properties have to leave within two
weeks or face eviction and arrest. However, at the time of writing, this order has not been
implemented. 809
iii. Access to Basic Services (Water, Sanitation, Health)
Potable water, sufficient sanitation and health services are pressing needs for IDPs,
particularly in villages and rural areas. The additional pressure placed on basic services by
new IDP arrivals has resulted in serious deficiencies. The presence of IDPs in any
community places an added burden on already weak and strained water and sanitation
networks and health services.
Many IDP families are unable to afford the cost of potable tankered water, used
increasingly to supplement the shortfalls in the national pipelines. In many parts of the
country, IDPs rely instead on unclean sources such as rivers and broken pipes, increasing
their exposure to waterborne diseases and other health risks. UNAMI has reported that
some 70 percent of the population lack access to potable water and 81 percent lack access
to effective sanitation.
Poor diet, overcrowded living conditions and limited access to potable water and sanitation
facilities exacerbate the spread of communicable diseases and increase health risks. IDPs
face limited access to health care, either because existing services are overstretched by
large concentrations of IDPs or because of settlement away from urban areas where
facilities either do not exist or are too far to access. Severe shortages in medical equipment,
supplies and manpower, and inadequate infrastructure as a result of sustained conflict have
weakened Iraq’s public health care system, disproportionately affecting IDP families, who
can hardly afford alternative private treatment or the escalating cost of medicines.
iv. Access to Income and Employment
Income sources in Iraq are almost exclusively linked to wages or self-employment
revenues. The employment situation in the country is extremely precarious. After leaving
their homes, most IDPs are not able to secure work in their area of displacement. Many are
unable to bring their possessions with them at the time of displacement and their savings
are rapidly depleted. While during the first few months after the Samarra bombings, some
IDPs were able to transfer their government positions or their retirement benefits to their
governorate of displacement, they now face increasing difficulties and delays in doing so.
809 Anne Garrels, Baghdad Squatters Face Deadline to Leave, NPR, 20 February 2007, http://www.npr.org/
templates/story/story.php?storyId=7492225; IRIN, Iraq: New security plan could make more homeless,
15 February 2007, http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=70208; Marc Santora, Iraqi government
announces a sweeping security campaign, International Herald Tribune, 13 February 2007,
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/13/news/iraq.php.
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