While it continued to respond to needs generated by decades of conflict, the ICRC in 2020 dedicated much of its work and efforts to help prevent or slow down the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate other risks arising from it.
It expanded its support to hospitals, primary health centers, physical rehabilitation centers, and places of detention where the ICRC has privileged access and could contribute to better protect detainees and prison staff from the disease.
Moreover, the ICRC strived to boost the capacity of vulnerable families to face the economic strain resulting from the pandemic, especially women-headed households, people with disabilities, Internally Displaced People (IDPs), and returnees, frequently in collaboration with the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS). And in so doing, precautionary measures were duly integrated into our modus operandi, to protect both those we endeavor to support and our own staff.
The ICRC operates through its delegation in Baghdad and its offices located in Mosul, Erbil, Kirkuk, Najaf, Ramadi, Basra, Khanaqin, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk