Secretary of State John Kerry is calling for countries to contribute at least $2 billion in extra funding to help Iraq recover from the Islamic State’s takeover of parts of the country.
The funds will be used for four main purposes, Kerry said: humanitarian aid, mine removal assistance, immediate help for communities released from the terrorist group’s control, and a funding facility to help the Iraqi government stabilize to ensure the group is fully defeated in the country.
In addition, he said citizens who were driven from their homes should be allowed to return and be provided the “services that they need to be able to rebuild their communities, resume their lives and pass on to their children a safer place.”
“It’s in our interest to make these urgently required investments because everyone of us here knows that what happens in Iraq has an impact on all of our countries,” Kerry said at the Pledging Conference in Support of Iraq in Washington on Wednesday.
The United Nations 2016 Iraq Humanitarian Response plan asked for $861 million in aid, but is 36 percent funded. The United States has provided more than $778 million since fiscal 2014, with an additional $20 million in humanitarian aid announced last month.
