IOM Iraq Rapid Assessment and Response Teams (RART): Crisis Operations IOM OIM IOM Iraq Rapid Assessment and Response Team (RART) Implementation of the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) As a result of significant efforts expended by IOM Iraq RART Support staff in presenting the advantages, capabilities and adaptability of the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), the Mission has now become the officially endorsed source of information regarding IDPs displaced due to the Crisis for the United Nations Humanitarian Country Team for Iraq (HCT). The Mission s field-based RART teams are comprehensively skilled, and ideally placed, to effectively implement the DTM. It is, in part, due to the strength of relationships, built and maintained through years of interaction with key members of both Iraq s vulnerable communities and administration, that RART members are able to gain access to vulnerable families and individuals. This is often done in the most challenging of conditions, in order to obtain information vital to the development of a targeted and effective response plan. The DTM is a globally established assessment mechanism that IOM has successfully implemented in the Missions of Pakistan, Haiti, the Philippines, Colombia, Nepal, Sudan, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, East Timor, Namibia, Afghanistan, Mali, Bolivia and the DRC. The data collected is analyzed to identify the main needs of displaced persons, and to prioritize these needs in the design of effective and dynamic programs and interventions. Implementation of the DTM involves the regular collection, analysis and dissemination of holistic, accurate and timely in-
formation. It provides information on demographics, vulnerabilities, and socio-economic profiles at the lowest geographical level. The capacity of the tool only allows for the identification of national migration trends, but is also comparable with data from other IOM missions, both regionally and globally, and, therefore, allows for the identification of cross-border migration trends. IOM Syria will also be implementing the DTM throughout, resulting data complementing that of IOM Iraq. The Mission s Rapid Assessment and Response Teams (RART) form a comprehensive network of fully trained and equipped staff members deployed across Iraq. The network was established in 2004 and, since then, the teams have developed the skills necessary to provide crucial support in community outreach; beneficiary identification; verification and follow up of individual and community assistance; and in the provision of accurate field data, information and reports, which have proved essential for the Mission s programmatic success. The key strength of the RARTs lies in their ability to continuously monitor and communicate situational updates at governorate, municipal, community and individual levels in all 18 Iraqi governorates. They are trained and equipped to carry out rapid individual and community assessments, and to provide preliminary recommendations for Community Assistance Projects (CAP). Information collected and analyzed is then utilized in project planning, individual and community assistance provision, and strategic adjustments during implementation. RARTs are also trained to rapidly assess and respond to the emergency and humanitarian needs of vulnerable populations, regardless of their status as IDPs, returnees or host community members, as is now being demonstrated in. The DTM has now transitioned from Round I to Round II. Round I was initiated on the 1st March, and went through (as will be the case with all subsequent rounds) two separate stages. During the first stage, RART teams identify all locations within their Areas of Responsibility (AoR), in which displaced families are located. They then confirm, through a series of Key Informant Interviews (KII) with local authorities, community representatives and Government ministries such as the Ministry of Migration and Displacement (MoMD),
the total number of displaced families present in each of these locations. The second stage involves a verification process, in which a comprehensive profiling of displacement locations is implemented (again through multiple KIIs), in order to confirm the following: Displaced population size; Displacement groups present (e.g. IDP post 2013, Iraqi Returnee displaced pre-2006 etc.); Ethno-religious demographics; Date of displacement; Migration type (e.g. primary/secondary displacement etc.); Type of shelter and the location of that shelter; Nationality; Place of origin; Vulnerabilities; Main sectorial needs of that location; Access to services. The second stage of Round I was concluded on the 24th March, so that the process of data encoding could be completed and analysis could begin. IOM Iraq RART staff had, by that stage, validated, assessed, and profiled 258 of the 285 locations identified in stage I. Although challenging security conditions prevented the full implementation of the DTM in during Round 1, 197 locations were identified as those to which a total of 44,352 IDP families had been displaced as a result of the ongoing conflict in the same governorate. The areas from which these families were displaced, and the type of shelter they currently have access to, were also confirmed. An initial analysis was then conducted by the RART Support and Analysis Team. Round II was concluded on the 22nd April. By this stage, 212 of the locations identified in Round 1 had been re-identified, in addition to the identification of 592 new displacement locations. Of these 804 identified locations, 399 were profiled. It should be mentioned that, whilst security conditions in the governorate of remain difficult, the RART were, in Round II, able to identify 206 displacement locations, before profiling of them. A comprehensive analysis will be published and made at the end of each round, building over a period of six months (six complete rounds) a comprehensive picture of displacement dynamics, vulnerabilities, intentions, and conditions on the ground experienced by Iraq s displaced populations. Subsequent rounds will be initiated on the 1st of each month, until the final round, which will be conducted in August.
During the approximately ten day suspension of DTM field-based activity, occurring at the end of each round, RART field staff will continue to carry out their other roles and responsibilities, such as thematic assessments, vulnerability assessments, emergency Non- Food-Item (NFI) distributions, assisted migration and livelihood beneficiary follow-up assessments etc. These activities are, of course, carried out whenever required, whether the DTM is ongoing in the field or. IOM Iraq Rapid Assessment and Response Team (RART) Response Vulnerability Assessments and Distributions of Non-Food-Item (NFI) Kits and WFP Food Parcels IOM Iraq RARTs are the Mission s front line in emergency response. The teams play a pivotal role at every stage, from initial investigations of vulnerability, to the determination of population size, demographics and needs, to the timely distribution of emergency relief supplies. They provide the information required for strategic Mission response planning, and then implement that response before assessing its effects and feeding that information back into further rounds of planning and response. The predominant emergency response capability of the Mission s RARTs is the rapid distribution of Non-Food-Item kits to vulnerable populations identified as such through RART-implemented vulnerability assessments. These kits are designed to provide sufficient emergency equipment to sustain a displaced family during the initial stages of a crisis. Although they can be modified in response to particular identified needs, standard NFI kits contain 4 blankets, 4 mattresses, 4 pillows, a carpet, cleaning powder, a 4-burner gas cooker, a kerosene heater, a 4-drawer plastic cupboard, 4 towels and other sanitary items. The Mission has, since the 12th January (and as a trusted distributing partner), also been facilitating the delivery of food parcels to vulnerable families displaced within the governorate of, on behalf of the World Food Program (WFP). Since the beginning of, IOM RARTs have carried out 39 response NFI distributions across 9 governorates, providing a total of 7,7 NFI kits. They have also implemented 30 WFP food parcel distributions within the governorate of itself, providing a total of 12,756 individual food parcels, as in the below chart:
IOM Iraq RART Response NFI Delivery and Food Parcel Delivery on behalf of WFP 12756 12756 WFP Food Parcels IOM NFIs 77 52 100 125 Najaf Diyala Babylon Ninewa 400 Kerbala 5 14 18 Salah al-din In advance of the vast majority of these distributions, RART personnel have implemented a vulnerability assessment in order to ascertain the demographics of the population requiring assistance, their vulnerabilities and immediate needs. Distributions are then tailored to address these needs in as comprehensive and timely a manner as possible. While security conditions often make these assessments challenging for the teams, they are very seldom unable to implement them at all in advance of a distribution, and comprehensive demographic details are usually obtained, as can be seen from the below table: 2930 Grand Total
Governorate Babylon Babylon IOM Iraq Crisis Vulnerability Assessments Najaf Ninewa Diyala Date Jan, Jan, Jan, families individuals females minors 2 1,453 735 801 0 2,843 1,445 1,522 0 0 2,903 1,479 1,555 2,926 1,517 1,814 elderly people 2 1,510 660 630 114 2 2 2 2 200 1,565 641 594 98 1,570 701 642 146 1,726 1,593 1,143 304 382 711 627 131 712 630 139 2 455 90 145 86 26 174 100 32 80 407 204 122 17 55 306 171 92 22 45 232 97 39 16 70 104 251 2 125 52 304 300 326 281 590 1,451 1,399 260 699 246 # assessed families receiving NFI kits 100 families 200 families Total: 4,532 26,719 12,881 12,022 1,108 4,477 149 165 168 136 284 778 705 131 337 134 132 11 115 13 173 133 28 13 269 35 591 81 386 37 73 26 313 24 128 9
RART personnel are very quickly able to assess and identify population demographics, registration status, current living conditions, levels of income, vulnerabilities and immediate needs, before these needs are comprehensively addressed, usually within a period of only a few days. In addition to those present in the table above, 14 other NFI distributions have been carried out since the onset of the crisis. In these cases, vulnerability assessments were carried out, either because vulnerability was clearly evident, such as when IDP families are displaced to communities in which the only shelter is to be found in public buildings which lack adequate facilities, or when security conditions prevent their implementation. Instead, teams have relied on information gathered from other trusted sources, such as local authorities, Mukhtars, and the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement (MoMD). Whether a vulnerability assessment is carried out or, RART personnel will still obtain as much information as assisted families are able to provide during the NFI distribution itself. If information can be obtained as to the plight of vulnerable populations in Iraq, IOM RART personnel will utilize all means to them in responding to those in need. It is clear then that IOM Iraq s Rapid Assessment and Response Teams perform a vital role within the Mission, that only feeds timely and indicative information to Mission-wide programming, in addition to Project Development, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Strategic Planning departments, but also constitutes the essential ground-based presence and capability that allows for effective, targeted and timely emergency response. This response contributes significantly to the mitigation of challenges faced by those families and individuals forcibly displaced into Iraq or with the country s borders. These challenges are those that the Displacement Tracking Matrix has been specifically developed to expose, bringing them to the attention of the international community. IOM s RART personnel can, therefore, be seen as essential to every stage of the Mission s humanitarian response capability. International Organization for Migration (Iraq) - +962 6 56 59 660 - iraqpublicinfo@iom.int - www.iomiraq.net