Baghdad, Iraq; 18 December 2019 – UNFPA renews its partnership with the European Regional Development and Protection Programme for Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq (RDPP II) with a multi-year grant of a total of DKK 22,056,446, equivalent of US$ 3.36 million to the Fund’s on-going interventions to mitigate and respond to gender-based violence in Iraq.
The conflict in Iraq and the subsequent humanitarian crisis have exponentially exposed the population, particularly women, girls and boys, to various forms of gender-based violence, including in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
RDPP’s contribution supports training, capacity building and system strengthening initiatives targeting institutions and government entities. This partnership ensures the continuity of mentored service provision related to survivors and well-being of women and girls from refugee, internally displaced and host communities across the country. Furthermore, this new funding enables UNFPA to work with partners on strengthening the legal framework and enhancing behavioral changes through evidence-based advocacy.
“This partnership aims to support government institutions in strengthening their capacity to respond to the survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and enhance the prevention of violence against women”, said Vincenzo Schiano-Lomoriello, RDPP Liaison and Project Manager, “This approach also ensures the active engagement of local partners and community leaders in the response to women and girl GBV survivors through the development of tools, national systems, and other capacity-building initiatives”.
“I am grateful for RDPP’s renewed trust in our interventions in Iraq,” said Dr Oluremi Sogunro, UNFPA Representative to Iraq. “UNFPA and RDPP’s partnership dates from 2017 and has allowed the Fund to support the establishment of a helpline “119” for GBV survivors and put together a communication for behavioural impact (COMBI) plan to end Female Genital Mutilation’s in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq”.
“With RDPP, we aim at strengthening education, individual training, and national data systems as well as improving individual rights and freedoms across Iraq: We shall leave no one behind”, he concluded.
The European Regional Development and Protection Programme for Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq (RDPP II) is a joint European initiative running until 2021. The Programme is supported by the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, Ireland and Switzerland.
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UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, delivers a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
For more information or media inquiries please contact:
Salwa Moussa, Communications Specialist, smoussa@unfpa.org, 00964 780 917 1035
Anastacia Hajj, Reporting and Communications Specialist, ahajj@rdpp-me.org, 009613462319
