Conditional Food cash-voucher assistance to vulnerable IDPs and host communities in East Mosul, Ninewa Governorate The humanitarian crisis in Iraq remains one of the largest and most volatile in the world. Over 3 million Iraqis are currently displaced, living in 3,700 locations across the country. In 2017, depending on the intensity and length of fighting in Mosul, Hawiga and Tel Afar, as many as 1.2 million additional civilians may be forced from their homes. The humanitarian situation is expected to worsen until families can re-establish their livelihoods and consolidate their households (HNO 2017). Therefore, ZOA has prepared a Food Security response to help the vulnerable IDPs and host communities in Mosul, where needs are extremely high due to the recent and ongoing military activities.

The overall objective of this project is to meet the essential food needs for IDP and host community families living in 4 neighbourhoods of east Mosul (Al Mrur, Aden, Qadisiya and Al Qudus).

The project is aligned with the general and sector specific strategic objectives for the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund (IHPF) in order to reach highly vulnerable people and contribute to international standards of care, assistance and protection. In line with the strategic priorities of the 2017 HRP ZOA focuses on reaching as many vulnerable people as possible, including displaced families, residents in host communities including returnees and remainees. The present project is a second-line response in areas in Mosul where new displacement is expected, where there are newly retaken and return areas with high concentrations of vulnerable populations where vulnerable populations are in danger of being left without essential services.

ZOA will establish specific vulnerability criteria for beneficiary selection following a comprehensive household survey and in consultation with the local Mukhtar and the PDS ration distributers who know the population well. ZOA will prioritise woman-headed households, and those without or with limited capacity for livelihood reestablishment. In line with the HRP 2017, ZOA aims to ensure that conflict affected families   and vulnerable   populations in priority locations can live in safety and dignity as follows:
1. Through the selection of 4 neighbourhoods where ZOA and our partners have previously completed rapid needs assessments, ZOA is targeting priority locations of populations with high numbers of IDPs and returnees in east Mosul.
2. Through the provision of conditional cash-vouchers for food, ZOA will provide a level of dignity and self-determination to the beneficiaries in purchasing food items for their specific needs within a sectoral restriction. To promote a healthy diet and inclusion of fruit and vegetables, each family will receive a separate voucher for general groceries and infant supplies ($200) and for fruit and vegetables ($50), to be used at the designated retailers.
3. Through facilitating access to food by pre-selecting local suppliers and retailer who can provide the essential food items.

The total number of direct beneficiaries is 12,000.

ZOA has extensive experience with humanitarian assistance to IDPs and host populations in northern Ninewah, East Mosul city, Erbil, and Sulaymaniyah and is well positioned to successfully implement this project and help the people in need.