CONTEXT AND METHODOLOGY
context
After Iraqi forces defeated the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2017 and regained control of areas that belonged to them, the rate of internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning to their area of origin (AoO ) remained relatively weak. To facilitate returns, the Iraqi government launched a plan to close IDP camps in 2019. In 2020, with the global COVID-19 pandemic, camp closures were suspended. In October 2020, the government resumed camp closures. At the end of 2020, 11 camps were closed and four reclassified as informal sites. Across federal Iraq, 27 camps remained open at the time of data collection, until November 2021, when Amriyat al Fallujah was reclassified as an informal site. As of November 2021, nearly 1.2 million displaced people remain in protracted displacement across the country. This included nearly 180,000 people who resided in 26 official IDP camps after the reclassification of Almriyat al-Fallujah.
As camps close and the context in Iraq shifts from emergency response to stabilization and development, the Iraq Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) cluster strategy aims to support the consolidation and closure of camps safely, and to ensure that minimum CCCM standards are met in all camps. The REACH assessment of movement intentions conducted in June-August 2021 showed that only 2% of IDPs in camps intended to return to their AoO within 12 months of data collection. Low rates of return intentions make IDPs in camps vulnerable to shocks should IDP camps close.
The CCCM Iraq Cluster and REACH conduct semi-annual profiling assessments of IDP camps to inform more effective humanitarian assistance for IDPs living in camps. The information obtained will be used to monitor camp conditions and highlight priority needs and service gaps faced by households (HHs) in formal IDP camps across Iraq, as well as multi-sectoral differences between the camps. This information will be used to respond to the needs of displaced people, as well as to inform the prioritization of camps to consolidate or close, if necessary.
These camp profiles reflect the fifteenth round of household surveys, conducted between June 16 and August 9, 2021, 12 months after the previous round of camp profiling conducted between August 16 and September 10, 2020. The collection of data took place in 27 official IDP camps (Table 1). Of the 27 camps covered, 26 camps remained open at the end of 2021.
Methodology
For Round XV of Camp Profiling, REACH designed a methodology that could be easily adapted to the ever-changing context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary data collection method was face-to-face with random sampling with a 95% confidence level and a 10% margin of error. This method was used in 23 of the 27 IDP camps. In the event of access restrictions or concerns about the spread of COVID-19, REACH followed IMPACT guidelines, collecting household surveys remotely through telephone interviews. In four camps, REACH used telephone interviews, random sampling from a contact list provided by the CCCM cluster and its partners, and a snowball effect when the target was not achieved. The purposive sampling method targeted enough surveys to keep the sample size consistent with sample sizes representative of face-to-face surveys. Although IDP camps with face-to-face data collection are statistically representative, results from camps with telephone surveys are not with any quantifiable degree of precision. The household survey used figures from the June 2021 CCCM cluster population flow list (see Table 1 for total sample size).
A mixed approach to data collection was used for this assessment, consisting of: a household survey and key informant interviews with the camp manager of each camp, and a mapping of camp infrastructure using an analysis of satellite images and interviews with camp managers conducted by our geographic service. Information System Team (GIS). In partnership, the CCCM cluster and REACH have conducted 14 previous rounds of camp profiling and mapping assessments in formal camps in Iraq. These profiling exercises initially took place on a quarterly basis, but as the situation in many IDP camps has stabilized over time, the assessment has been conducted on a biannual basis since 2016 and on an annual basis. since 2020.
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