Almost five years after the Iraqi Government recaptured Diyala Governorate from the IS group and conflict ceased, displaced families from across the area remain in IDP camps and fear they will never be able to return to their homes and farmlands.

Today, the Iraqi government is pushing to have all IDPs return to their regions of origin and whilst many have been able to do so, the rate of returns has slowed with thousands of families still stuck in camps and seeing no way forward, or more importantly, no way back.

Given this change of priorities and supposed transition from a post-conflict setting to a development setting, the NGOs who have been leading the humanitarian response in Diyala are struggling for funding and have in many cases been forced to withdraw. This means that services are being reduced across Diyala despite the fact that both returnees and those who remain displaced continue to need a lot of support in terms of health care, food, shelter and livelihoods.

MSF teams have been working in Diyala Governorate since 2016 delivering mental health care, treatment for chronic disease and sexual and reproductive health care to displaced families inside Alwand 1 and Alwand 2 Camps as well as supporting the local ministry of health to provide care in Jalawla and Saadiya. Given that the situation has evolved, MSF has handed over their activities inside the Jalawla and Saadiya Primary healthcare centres (PHCCs) and is in the process of opening new activities in collaboration with the Department of Health in the neglected area of Sinsil, Muqdadiya in Diyala Governorate. Currently, there are 827 families living in the camps which have a total population of approximately 3,500 people.

So far this year MSF has provided 2915 mental health sessions, 12250 NCD consultations as well as provided reproductive and sexual health care to 6647 women.