Iraq

Emergency Response

Though many years have passed since the 2003 war, Iraq continues to experience a large-scale humanitarian crisis, as government authorities struggle to restore basic amenities. To support those caught up in ongoing violence, International Medical Corps responds quickly to emergencies anywhere in the country, using prepositioned stocks of essential supplies and an active roster of technical staff who can be rapidly mobilised.

Community Health

Our community health workers (CHWs) play a vital role in connecting beneficiaries with project services by conducting regular door-to-door visits and delivering tailored messages about child protection (CP), gender-based violence (GBV) and mental health and psychosocial services (MHPSS) to communities. They identify the most at-risk people and refer them to available services. Our team also conducts weekly educational activities to engage communities and facilitate in-depth discussions on various topics, contributing to community awareness and addressing issues around health and well-being.

To ensure that our outreach efforts are effective, we conduct regular assessments to identify the community’s specific needs and challenges. This enables us to tailor our messages and services to better meet each community’s requirements and target those most in need. We also work closely with local community leaders and organisations to ensure that our outreach efforts are culturally sensitive and appropriate.

Gender-based Violence

International Medical Corps is a leader in implementing GBV prevention and response programmes in Iraq. We provide survivor-centered GBV case management, risk mitigation, response and prevention services. In Dohuk, we have established two women’s and girls’ safe spaces (WGSS), which offer essential services and outreach activities to support GBV survivors, as well as vulnerable refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees. At the WGSS, we also provide empowerment and psychosocial services, skills-building and recreational activities.

Our GBV referral system is linked to our CP and MHPSS networks, ensuring integrated care. We provide GBV services through static WGSS, and reach women and girls in remote areas through mobile teams. Our programming for adolescent girls teaches them new skills, empowering them and helping to mitigate the risks they face daily.

To prevent GBV and provide a safer environment for women and girls, we engage men—including traditional male leaders and local stakeholders—through effective communication strategies that challenge harmful gender norms and promote behavior change.

Our experience has shown that community-led initiatives are vital in combatting GBV. These initiatives, which involve meaningful messaging for local populations, are key to engaging with and building the support needed from government and community leaders to achieve a lasting impact. We provide mentoring to those interested in actively supporting GBV prevention and response. Our GBV outreach workers run community-based prevention and response campaigns, identify vulnerable women and girls, inform them of available services and, if needed, make referrals.

Child Protection

Because we understand the role that community members and local actors play in preventing, mitigating and responding to protection issues and concerns, we enhance CP response, mitigation and prevention by building the capacity of frontline service providers and strengthening coordination among different protection sectors. We also engage with government institutions by building their capacity and improving their knowledge about CP rights and concerns.

Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)

International Medical Corps delivers integrated MHPSS services to refugees, IDPs and host communities through mental health case management, community outreach and specialised consultations at both the community and clinical levels. We train local stakeholders in providing brief psychological interventions, such as psychological first aid and mental health case management, and training in the World Health Organization’s Problem Management Plus and Mental Health Gap Action Programme.

We helped the Ministry of Health in develop and implement its national MHPSS strategy, which included supporting many psychosocial units within health facilities. We are currently supporting the reactivation of six psychosocial units within primary healthcare centres, and the establishment of two mental health service users associations.

Capacity Building

To address the lack of trained mental health professionals in Iraq, we provide training to help partners strengthen national and local capacity, ensuring that stakeholders can respond to protection and MHPSS needs efficiently. After training, participants receive continued supervision to enhance their learning and ensure that they are applying their skills appropriately.