Baghdad, Iraq, 9 February 2017 – In crisis situations, needs for shelter, food and security are rightly given urgent attention. Yet, specific needs of women and girls are often overlooked. According to estimates, 550,000 to 885,000 people are living in retaken neighbourhoods of eastern Mosul city, of whom 138,000 to 220,000 are women and girls with heightened health and protection needs. UNFPA is working to meet these needs in collaboration with national and international partners and in coordination with government authorities. 

Since the onset of the military operations to retake Mosul, UNFPA has been delivering frontline emergency response, providing sexual and reproductive health services and psychosocial support to women and girls of reproductive age in the retaken districts of Eastern Mosul. An integral part of UNFPA interventions has been aiming at helping women and girls preserve their dignity during this humanitarian emergency through the distribution of 30,000 dignity kits –containing hygiene and sanitary supplies such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, sanitary pads and underclothes. The distributions have been targeting newly retaken areas in Eastern Mosul, reaching districts and neighbourhoods where they were mostly needed in accordance with UNFPA’s rapid assessments.

An estimated population of 750,000 persons is currently living in the Western sections of Mosul and with the expected launch of the military operations to retake this part of the city, immediate response to these needs of women and girls is paramount. UNFPA has prepositioned dignity kits to meet the needs of 180,000 women and girls in Western Mosul. UNFPA has also prepositioned its medical teams and social workers to start providing frontline response once new districts in Western Mosul are accessible for humanitarian assistance.  
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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:
Mohamed Megahed; Communications Officer; megahed@unfpa.org