Scorching Heat and Bloodshed Fuelling a Humanitarian Crises as WFP Chief Visits Iraq (For the Media)

ERBIL, Iraq – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Ertharin Cousin on Wednesday ended a two-day visit to Iraq after high-level talks with government officials in the Kurdistan Regional Government, donors, and meeting displaced families who fled the violence in Mosul. WFP has launched an emergency operation to feed the conflict-affected population in Iraq and its operations to feed over half a million people of the newly displaced people amid security and funding challenges. Before the latest wave of displacements, starting with the violence in Mosul, WFP has already been assisting 240,000 people displaced by conflict in Iraq’s al-Anbar Governorate, as well as more than 100,000 refugees from the conflict in Syria who are sheltering in Iraq.