* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
13 April 2015
Emergency relief and recovery organisation Medair has been chosen by the Kurdistan Regional Government to register nearly 200,000 displaced people living in 16 camps across Duhok and Ninewa Governorates.
This week, Medair will implement a pilot project to register 20,000 people in Shariya Camp in Duhok Governorate using Last Mile Mobile Solutions (LMMS) - a mobile application system developed by World Vision. Medair will then continue the initiative in 15 camps in Duhok and Ninewa Governorates.
Inadequate means, such as spreadsheets or even pen-and-paper records, are currently used to register families in these camps, threatening relief coordination efforts and effective aid delivery among humanitarian organisations. Without proper databases and effective registration systems, people are at greater risk of becoming victims of fraud, or loss. After witnessing the power of mobile data collection and electronic database management during Medair’s emergency response last year, the government decided to partner with Medair to implement LMMS.
Using LMMS, Medair will give each household in the camps a photo ID card with a barcode settlement number that identifies the number of family members, their ages, and genders in order to make the distribution of relief items from aid agencies quicker and more tailored to families’ specific needs.
“This project will help us to register displaced people living inside and outside camps,” said Karwan Nazar Dawood, Information Manager at the government’s Bureau of Relief and Humanitarian Assistance. “It will also help us to distribute items and coordinate with agencies through better data management. In my opinion, many problems will be solved using LMMS.”
Medair uses the software in Lebanon to register thousands of Syrian refugees living in informal settlements in the Bekaa Valley.
“This project will ensure that families living in these huge displacement camps are no longer anonymous. Their needs will be known, and the help they receive will be more effective,” said Jaap Scheele, Medair’s Camp Registration Project Manager. “We are happy to use our expertise in LMMS to support the Kurdistan Regional Government in this way as it coordinates with other relief agencies to deliver the aid these people so desperately need.”
Since the surge in violence between armed groups and government forces started, more than 2.6 million people have been displaced across Iraq and millions of people are in need of assistance.
Medair helps people who are suffering in remote and devastated communities around the world survive crises, recover with dignity, and develop skills to build a better future. For more information about what Medair is doing in Iraq, please click here.
For media
Interviews, photos, and stories are available upon request in English.
For more information, please contact Abigail Woodcock, Press Relations Officer (English) abigail.woodcock@medair.org+41 (0)21 694 84 72 or +41 (0)78 635 30 95
For enquiries and interviews from Iraq, please contact: Bethany Williams, Communications Officer (English), comms-irq@medair.org +964 (0) 750 311 7326
LMMS is an innovative technology software designed and developed by World Vision Canada. For more information, please click here.
Medair’s Iraq Programme is supported by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development in partnership with World Renew, the World Health Organization,the US Agency for International Aid, Medicor Foundation (LI), Dorcas Aid International (NL), Transform Aid International (AU), and private donors.
This press release was produced with resources gathered by Medair field and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.
