Iraq Crisis - Support to the “No Lost Generation” Initiative in Iraq - UNICEF 2016-2019

September 2016 – The humanitarian situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate as armed clashes between Daesh and government forces drive displacement. Since January 2014 over 3.3 million people have been displaced and an additional 887 000 previously displaced people have returned to their homes that have often been destroyed making it one of the largest cases of internal displacement in the world. Persecution of minority groups is an ongoing concern as well as the protection of women and children who are at an increased risk of (and in some cases targeted for) sexual violence such as rape as well as child early and forced marriage. Canada is helping reduce the vulnerability of hundreds of thousands of crisis-affected people especially women and children through a broad spectrum of humanitarian assistance activities across Iraq. GAC’s humanitarian support to UNICEF’s “No Lost Generation” (NLG) Initiative is contributing to improved access to education and protection in conflict-affected regions of Iraq. Project activities include: (1) improving access to quality learning in a progressively strengthened education system including humanitarian situations for children of basic and post-basic school age especially girls; (2) improving access to child protection sexual and gender-based violence prevention and response youth empowerment and resilience for Iraqi and refugee children affected by conflict; and (3) improving opportunities for gender-sensitive communities and social cohesion for adolescent and youth boys and girls affected by conflict.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved access to quality education for children particularly girls; (2) improved access to child protection sexual and gender-based violence prevention and response youth empowerment and resilience for Iraqi and refugee children; and (3) improved gender sensitivity and social cohesion in communities for adolescents and youths. The ultimate outcome is lives saved suffering alleviated and human dignity maintained in countries experiencing humanitarian crisis or that are food insecure.