Poland in Iraq

Thanks to this project 20,000 reusable cotton face-masks have been distributed to displaced people residing in Dawoodia IDP camp and Sharia village in Dohuk governorate. The distribution was accompanied by an awareness campaign, informing the recipients on the most hygienic and efficient use of the face-masks, as well as additional prevention methods for virus control.

 

 

The masks themselves were made by 51 displaced Yezidi. Yezidis have suffered generations of persecution and trauma and continue to experience worse health outcomes, higher levels of unemployment, and poorer living standards than any other population in the region. The coronavirus outbreak and the emergence of fear within the community, as well as the loss of employment and increased sense of isolation caused by restrictions on movement, has caused all of these factors to deteriorate even further. The employment of even a small number of these women helped support 51 families through this crisis, as well as provided the women with experience in employment and transferable skills.

 

 

The past few months of intensive restrictions have also resulted in the closure and a reduction in hours of a number of primary health centres in the region. Making primary, essential care very difficult to obtain. STEP-IN adapted their primary healthcare centre in Dawoodia Camp, a camp housing 4,000 internally displaced people, to provide the most help whilst also abiding by physical distancing recommendations. Chronic medications have been hand-delivered to patient’s homes so the elderly and the vulnerable are spared unnecessary trips to the clinic. All the face-masks were also distributed through home visits, to prevent people from gathering into large groups. All the staff received additional training on coronavirus and communicable diseases.

 

 

This three-tiered approach to a coronavirus response allowed the largest possible impact to be made on the target communities. The project raised community awareness and knowledge, and provided populations living in close-quarters and high risk areas with protective masks. It supported local employment and encouraged skills development, both in local healthcare staff and newly employed seamstresses. And it continues to provide essential primary care to a vulnerable population of one of the most remote IDP camps in the region.