The IRC in Iraq

Photo: Sasha Pippenger/IRC

More than 1.5 million Iraqis — close to 5% of the population — who fled or were forced from their homes following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 are still displaced. The International Rescue Committee continues to support their safe return and to ensure that they are protected wherever they may be. Uprooted women and children are especially vulnerable and are at the forefront of our efforts.

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How We Help

The IRC rebuilds schools damaged by war, and trains teachers, reaching close to fifty-thousand students at 130 Iraqi schools.
We provide free legal assistance to thousands of returnees and displaced persons.
We help displaced community leaders develop their skills in identifying and addressing essential community needs.
We promote healthy families and women’s well-being by providing health, legal and psychosocial services.
We help displaced young people find work and become self-sufficient through savings and credit associations and job training.
The IRC ensures that displaced school children have access to clean water and proper hygiene facilities.

Inside our Work in Iraq

The IRC focuses on supporting those uprooted or impacted by decades of conflict. We arrived in Iraq shortly after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, but, were forced to pull out due to escalating violence three years later. In 2008, we returned, and since then, have worked in two-thirds of Iraq’s 18 provinces, reaching more than 100,000 of those in the greatest need of help.