Thousands of people are fleeing their homes as the Iraqi army, Kurdish Peshmerga and coalition forces fight to retake Mosul — Iraq's second largest city — from the ISIS militant group. Nearly 22,000 Iraqis have been displaced since the battle for Mosul began on October 17. Almost half of them are children. People who fled surrounding communities are telling International Rescue Committee aid workers about the two years of terror they endured living under ISIS. Here, one woman describes how her family managed to survive under ISIS’s strict code of behavior and dress, and how they were finally able to escape as the military offensive began.

In recent years, there has been growing donor momentum around youth-focussed programming with a focus on the role of youth in social, economic and political development, especially in conflict affected countries. However, there is a lack of detailed information about donor policies and strategies and whether and how these strategies have been matched by an increase in funding and specific programming to meet youth needs. The International Rescue Committee commissioned this report to analyse key trends in donor strategies, programmes and funding to meet the needs of youth (aged 15-24) in conflict- and disaster-affected countries, with a specific focus on youth livelihoods development. The report is based on an in-depth desk-based review of available donor policy documents, programme and project information sourced from donor websites or staff members, as well as interviews with donor representatives. It focuses on the major public sector donors that have worked on, with and for youth over the last decade. Annex A provides information on the policies, strategies and programming of individual, bilateral and multilateral donors

Gender-based violence (GBV) often escalates during humanitarian emergencies, especially when crises result in displacement. Increasingly, displaced persons are living in host communities or informal settlements, with more than half of the world's displaced people living in urban areas. Furthermore, conflict and disasters exacerbate many forms of GBV, such as sexual violence, intimate partner violence (IPV), and early marriage. Often those populations at greatest risk of GBV reside in areas that are difficult to access, both in terms of distance and security. To address these challenges, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), with support from the U.S. State Department, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM), and European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), has developed guidelines to support the provision of mobile and remote services to survivors of GBV in out-of-camp humanitarian settings. The guidelines recommend approaches and minimum standards for designing and implementing such approaches to service delivery while adhering to best-practice principles.

Children are one of the most vulnerable groups of migrants. They have complex needs, including for a safe and stable environment, as well as access to healthcare, education and tailored, child-friendly services. Within this group, unaccompanied children, who have been separated from their families and are not being cared for by an adult guardian,are particularly exposed to increased risks of violence, abuse, and exploitation. As a result, they need targeted and appropriate services to scale, including adequate identification and registration, guardianship and legal representation, quality accommodation and care arrangements. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been providing child protection services for asylum-seekers, refugees and other migrants in Greece since 2016, and have been providing Supported Independent Living services for teenagers in Athens in 2019. We believe that durable solutions that better address the needs and safeguard the rights of unaccompanied children must be urgently introduced or expanded. This report aims to highlight the importance of strengthening the multiple durable solutions available for unaccompanied children in Greece.

Three years ago Ahnaw* collapsed on the floor of her house in a small rural village in eastern Myanmar. When she came to, she realised she was bleeding heavily from what turned out to be a miscarriage. “I didn’t even know I was pregnant,” the 36-year-old recalls, seated in front of a Buddhist shrine in her living room. “They told me when I got to the hospital. They said I was lucky to survive.” As a result of her experience, Ahnaw is now part of an International Rescue Committee programme that trains hundreds of women in Myanmar’s Kayin state to become advocates for birth-spacing and safe pregnancies. These “mother support groups” spread their messages in village gatherings or by going door-to-door, targeting families with many children or young families with children born in quick succession.