rabia multi-sectorial assessment report vf...rabia city: multi‐sectorial assessment – january...

Rabia City Telafar district, Ninewa

Multi-sectorial

assessment

A focus on livelihoods

Rabia City: Multi‐sectorial assessment – January 2016 [2]

CONTACTS

David ANNEQUIN – FRC Country Representative

Tel: +964 (0) 751 035 82 26 / (0) 771 749 05 15

E‐Mail: hod‐iraq.frc@croix‐rouge.fr

Sokchearta ITH – FRC Livelihoods Coordinator

Tel: +964 (0) 751 2376 547

E‐Mail: livelihood‐iraq.frc@croix‐rouge.fr


Table of Contents

PART 1 – CONTEXT __________________________________________________________ 4

PART 2 – ASSESSMENT PRESENTATION __________________________________________ 6

1. Justification _________________________________________________________________6

2. Objectives ___________________________________________________________________6

3. Methodology ________________________________________________________________7

4. Limits of the assessement ______________________________________________________7

PART 3 – RESULTS ANALYSIS __________________________________________________ 9

1. Household general information _________________________________________________9

2. Population displacement _____________________________________________________ 10

3. Employment and capabilities _________________________________________________ 11

4. Agriculture ________________________________________________________________ 17

5. Housing ___________________________________________________________________ 18

6. Education _________________________________________________________________ 19

7. Health ____________________________________________________________________ 19

8. Social cohesion _____________________________________________________________ 20

9. Wash _____________________________________________________________________ 21

Annex : Terms of reference ___________________________________________________ 24

Assessment tools available upon request: Key Informant Questionnaire template; Focus Groups Discussion

guidelines (men, women, youth, farmers, business men)


PART 1 – CONTEXT

In August 2014, ISIS took control of Rabia ‐ a strategic sub‐district located in Ninewa province

between Mosul and Syria at the north of Sinjar border. The sub‐district of Rabia which is part of Tal

Afar district represents a key position as it is a border crossing traditionally known as a lucrative

business centre for local tribes and multiple Iraqi governments.

SYRIA

IRAQ

SYRIA

IRAQ


The border town of Rabia has been at the forefront of fierce fighting due to this strategic

importance. By November 2014, Rabia was a ghost town and the city suffered heavy destruction. In

October 2014, Rabia was liberated in a relatively quick operation because of the joint Sunni Arab

Shammar ‐ Peshmerga alliance that attacked under cover of coalition air support.

More than a year after its clearing, the picture in Rabia is mixed. One of the successes in the

area is its repopulation. Indeed, 12 000 out of 13 000 families have returned. In term of security, the

area is stable as the Peshmerga forces are stationed around the sub‐district with locals providing

security inside the city. To be noted that ISIS has not been able to represent a threat to Rabia since

October 2014. However, beyond the security aspect, life conditions in Rabia are harsh. Indeed, the

infrastructure and services are still depleted partly because of the on‐going anti‐ISIS war, the economic

crisis in the country, and the consequences of the disputed territory politics. The federal government

is sceptical about the possibility for Rabia to build alliances with Erbil. In addition, the KRG is unable or

unwilling to fully commit itself to a territory outside the constitutionally‐defined Iraqi Kurdistan. What

is certain is that Rabia has been under‐resourced for a long period of time.

The crisis still has an important impact on the humanitarian situation in Rabia and the

returnees are currently struggling to regain a normal course of life. The destruction wrought by conflict

in the sub‐district is particularly important. The damages have affected local infrastructures, access to

services, the local economy and the social fabric of originally diverse areas. One of the main

consequences is the general impoverishment of the area, and the use of de‐capitalizing survival

mechanisms by returning population, although they do not have a lot of assets left after the occupation

of the area by AOGs. Community mechanisms, economic and agricultural activities are most of the

times negatively affected.

Rabia is well‐known for its fertile soil and agriculture, but the conflict has seriously affected

both main sources of livelihoods – farming and livestock. In addition, IEDs and other remnants of war

remain a threat in the villages and fields, impeding the revival of the local economy, wounding and

killing dozens and wreaking havoc within the community, which was already affected by chronic under‐

development.

Local authority buildings have been devastated during the conflict, paralyzing public

administration. In terms of public service provision, the lack of water, sanitation and solid waste

management systems are posing serious health risks. Drainage channels damaged by the conflict or

blocked by the lack of maintenance are overflowing sewage into the streets. The looting or destruction

of the entire waste collection system has resulted in the piling up solid waste in the streets. Even tools

for street cleaning are no longer available.


PART 2 – ASSESSMENT PRESENTATION

1. Justification

This assessment is the first step of a Cash Based Intervention project in Rabia city. For more

details about the other components of this project’s preparation phase, please refer to the ToR of this

assessment (Annex 1).

At the beginning of 2015, the French Red Cross expanded its strategy outside the border of

KRI, in ‘newly freed areas’ of Iraq. Further to a need assessment conducted over several months in

Zumar and its surroundings, the FRC, supported by UNDP launched a Cash for Work (CfW) project,

which included waste collection, as well as restoration of stores and market shops activities.

Following this first experience at Zumar, the FRC had the possibility to duplicate this project in

Rabia in 2016. As much as Zumar area, Rabia needed a quick cash injection into the local economy, in

order to increase the buying power of the households and jump‐start their livelihood activities on one

hand, and to partially restore community infrastructures/places, (waste management is especially

needed) and offer services in a clean and secure environment on the other hand.

2. Objectives

The main objective of this multi‐survey assessment is to prepare the implementation of the

CFW project in Rabia.

The specific objectives of this multi‐survey assessment are to:

‐ Identify and measure the humanitarian needs of a crisis‐affected community, provide

quantitative data and draft a socio economic profile of the population.

FRC team especially focused on the thematic of livelihoods and social cohesion. However the

assessment was wide enough to collect information on the global situation and various technical

sectors have been analysed: water, sanitation, food security, health, shelter, agriculture, market,

education… The collected data will be used as a baseline for the project, and will provide information

to design an exit strategy.

‐ Design relevant vulnerability criteria to select the cash for worker’s on the basis of the

gathered information which allowed FRC to identify the different socio‐economic categories in the

community, along with their degree of risk exposure.

‐ Consult the interviewees on the Community Platform relevance, creation, and members


3. Methodology

The assessment team collected data with a closed question questionnaire through face‐to‐face

interviews. This technic allowed a systematic recording of information from a population sample.

Interviews have been conducted on Samsung Galaxy tablets using the ODK App. The data have been

compiled in a password protected online database to be analysed afterwards. Data collection lasted 8

days, from January 26th to February 04th, and assessors conducted 152 interviews.

The city has been divided in 7 areas, each one managed by a different Mokhtar, and each area

has been attributed to one specific team. Households have been randomly chosen by the assessors.

Upon the request of the Municipality and as is the custom, Mokhtars were present during most of the

interviews.

The population figures used to calculate the population sample have been provided by the

Mokhtar of each area and approved by the Mayor and Municipality.

Area Total nb of

families

Nb of IDPS

families among

total

Initial sample

(5% of pop)

1 Hay Askari 981 100 49

2 Al Asrya 350 150 18

3 Al Qadsya 528 17 26

4 Hay Askari 270 70 14




TOTAL 2977 411 1491

Table 1: Population sample

Additional information on infrastructures (water and sanitation) has also been collected

through discussions with key informants namely Rabia Municipality employees on the March 7th,

2016.

4. Limits of the assessement

The results of the assessment give an overview of the situation in Rabia city, but cannot be

extended to the entire sub‐district, as the needs differ largely according to what each site/village went

through.

The population sample has been determined on the basis of figures gathered from the

Mokhtars. However, demographic data are confused, and FRC struggled to get reliable information,

either about the number of households before the crisis, the number of IDPs, or the number of

1 The assessors finally collected 152 surveys on the 149 requested.


returnees. The figures provided by the Sub‐Mayor office do not match those provided by the Mokhtars,

although the question was asked to all the sources on the same day.

Other limits have to be taken into account, such as the reliability of the answers to the

questionnaire. Some interviewed persons might have given the answer they thought FRC expected

instead of the one which matched their reality and practices.


PART 3 – RESULTS ANALYSIS

1. Household general information

In total, 152 households have been interviewed through the survey. Amongst them, 76.3%

were returnees; 22.4% IDP and 1.3% remainees (did not flee the area when ISIS entered Rabia). No

Syrian refugees were interviewed; however, according to the authorities, there was only one Syrian

family in Rabia town.

The average size of one household is 7.47 persons, with 32% of the households having

between 8 to 11 members, and 9% more than 12 members. Regarding the age of the family members,

the following data have been collected:

Family members

Children under 5

Children between 5 and 14

Persons above 60

Mean 1.36 person 1.8 person 0.38 person

0 37.5% 31.6% 67.1%

1 15.1% 15.1% 28.3%

2 30.9% 21.7% 4.6%

3 10.5% 17.1%

4 3.3% 7.9%

5 2.0% 3.3%

6 1.3%

7 0.7% 1.3%

8 0.7%

TOTAL 100% 100% 100%

Table 2: Family members’ age

The heads of households were male in 81.6% of the case. The average age of the head of

household was 48 years old.

In female headed household, the average age of the head of household was 54 years old, while in male

headed household, the average age was 46 years old.

Regarding the head of household’s status, 86% of the female headed households were

widows, while 98% of the male headed household were married.

Status Total Male headed household

Female headed household

Divorced 0.7% 3.6%

Married 82.2% 98.4% 10.7%

Single 1.3% 1.6%

Widowed 15.8% 85.7%

TOTAL 100% 100% 100%

Table 3: Head of household status


Different types of vulnerabilities or status which could constitute vulnerability if associated

with other factors were assessed:

Nb of family member

Chronic disease / serious medical

condition

Pregnant/ lactating women

Person with disability

(mental/physical) and/or bedridden

Mean 0.74 person 0.21 person 0.19 person

0 40.10% 80.9% 82.90%

1 46.70% 17.1% 15.70%

2 12.50% 2.0% 0.70%

3 0.70% 0.70%

TOTAL 100% 100% 100%

Table 4: Household’s vulnerabilities

Nearly 2 out of 3 families interviewed had at least one person with a chronic disease or serious

medical conditions.

2. Population displacement

Almost all the households interviewed had been through a displacement (98.7%)

IDPs were all coming from the region, of which a majority ‐ 44% ‐ coming from villages located

in Rabia sub‐district, 29.4% coming from Sinjar area, 12% coming from Zumar area, and the rest from

Baaji area or other districts in Ninewa. The arrival of IDPs in Rabia (number of households per month)

has been progressive over time:

Table 5: Number of IDP family’s arriving in Rabia over time

-

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9


Regarding IDPs’ intentions over the next 30 days, 60% were planning to stay in their current

location, 30% to return to their area of origin, and 10% were waiting for some elements to decide.

All returnees’ families had been displaced more than 6 months, and as we can see in the chart

below, most of them came back in March and April 2015.

It seems that most of the people went to Syria when ISIS arrived, and came back with

smugglers, paying around 1 500 USD per family.

Table 6: Return of households to Rabia city over time (number of households per month)

3. Employment and capabilities

1. Access to income before the crisis

Nearly 75% of the head of households worked before the crisis.

85.5% of the male headed households worked

before the crisis.

21.4% of the female headed households

worked before the crisis.

Table 7: % of the head of households working before the crisis (repartition by gender)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

78.60%

14.50%21.40%

85.5%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Female headedhousehold

Male headedhousehold

No

Yes


Table 8: % of male & female head of households working before the crisis per category of income

A fifth of the male head of households expressed that they worked in other category; most of

them were drivers or taxi drivers. 14% worked in public service and in agricultural sector as well; 11%

in military. The female head of households used to work in public service, agricultural and military

sectors.

2. Access to income after the crisis

Due to the crisis, the majority of the head of households

lost their works.

42.1% mentioned that the crisis did not affect their jobs

and nothing changed.

Table 9: Impact of the crisis on the head of household’s

employment

At the time of the survey, 62% of the households

had at least one person working.

All these persons were men, amongst which two

were under 18 years old.

Table 10: Number of persons in your family that

are working right now

7%

7%

7%

14%

7%

5%

14%

11%

3%

8%

7%

21%

Agriculture sales ‐ Farming crops / vegetables

Livestock sales

Salary / income from private sector

Salary in Public service

Military

Paid / casual labor ‐ agriculture

Paid / casual labor ‐ construction

Paid / casual labor ‐ other (explain)

Other category (explain)

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Male

Female

5.2%0.70%

52.00%

42.10%

Changedwork

Gainedwork

Lost work

Nothingchanged

38.2%

50.0%

7.8

3.3%0.7%

0

1

2

3

4


Table 11: % of men working at the time of the survey per category of income

Most of them were working as a casual labor (54.2%) in different sectors but mainly in the

construction (24.6%) and in the services (21.2%). 18.6% worked in the private sector (clothes, mobile

phone sell & repair, bakery, butcher, sell of cereals, stationaries, mechanic, fuel and gas).

No women were working at the time of the survey.

Culturally, women are normally not working in the region, which confirms the trend observed during

the survey. However, this fact makes women headed household even more vulnerable. They do not

have any other choice than to depend on their extended family, brothers, and relatives.

In order to survive, some of them found informal ways to earn a small income. Few examples were

collected by the assessors: one was recycling and selling bottles (gas, water), another getting an income

from renting her house to Zain Phone Company (antenna), others going to shops / bazar at the end of

the day asking for the remaining / un‐sold articles...

Thus it appeared that receiving the support from relatives was critical for women headed households,

and included as criteria in the selection system of the CFW beneficiaries.

According to interviewees2, the amount earned per family during the last 30 days preceding

the survey was on average 231 000 IQD (197.4 USD); the minimum being 0 IQD and the maximum 1

500 000 IQD (1 282 USD). 84% earned less than 399 999 IQD (342 USD), amongst them 71% less than

200 000 IQD (171 USD).

2 Knowing that data extracted from this type of question is generally not reliable as people minimize the amount of money

they actually earned in order to be selected as beneficiary.

5.9%

2.5%

18.6%

11%

7.6%4.2%

24.6%

21.2%

1.7%2.5%

Agriculture sales ‐ Farming crops /vegetablesLivestock sales

Salary / income from private sector ‐ TradeincludedSalary in Public service

Military

Paid / casual labor ‐ agriculture

Paid / casual labor ‐ construction

Paid /casual labor ‐ services

Paid / casual labor ‐ lecturer in school

Paid / casual labor ‐ other


Table 12: Amount of money earned by the family during last 30 days

3. Impact of the crisis on the households’ income

Interviewees have been asked to do a participatory exercise, telling the assessor what

percentage of their income was coming from which activity before and after the crisis. The objective

was to better understand the impact of the crisis. Before the crisis, 82% of the households were

employed and 74% were paid as casual worker. 82% of the households depended on the PDS or other

Government Safety Net programme. 69 % benefited from the support of NGOs.

Table 13: Part of the income coming from each activity before the crisis (concerning the whole

population)

However, for the whole population, 15% out of the global income came from farming crops.

It represented on average 52% of the total income for each family who used this activity. After the

crisis, 78% of the households lost this source of income. But farming crops is still an important source

of income for those who used it as it represents actually 49% of their total income.

After the crisis, salary work remained one of the main source of income even if it had decreased

a little in terms of number of households whose income is coming from paid employment (‐9% of the

households). The part of their total income (for each family and for the whole population) it represents

has reduced as well. Loan of money began to represent an important part of their incomes (a quarter

of the income for each family). The crisis did not have an impact on the other source of income.

60% 24% 7%

1%

3%3%

2%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Less than 200 000 From 200 000 to 399 999 From 400000 to 599 999From 600 000 to 799999 From 800000 to 999 999 From 1 000 000 to 1 199 999

15% 3%

0%

5%

26%31%

4%

1%8%

1%

5%

Farming crops

Livestock

Sale of Kitchen Garden / Vegetables

Trading

Paid / Casual Labour

Paid Employment / Salaried work

Loans of money

Loans of food / goods

PDS or other Government Safety Net programme

Relief goods / Support from NGOs

Other


4. Household’s expenditures

The same exercise was repeated

regarding the expenditures.

Before the crisis, nearly all the

interviewees spent money on

health/medicine. Three‐quarters

spent money on repaying debts.

65% shared money with relatives

or neighbours but it represents a

small part of their expenditures

(1% for the whole population and

1% for each household).

Table 14: Percentage per category of expenditures out of the total expenditures before the crisis for

the whole population

The crisis did not dramatically affect the allocation of expenditures for the whole population

or for each family.

Table 15: Percentage per category of expenditures out of total expenditures after the crisis for the

whole population

41%

2%16%

4%3%

9%

3%

2%7%

6%

2%

4%

1%1%

Food items

House repair / building material

Health / Medicines

Transport

Repaying debts

Power, electricity, gaz, fuel

Water

House rent

Hygiene items

School fees / costs for children

Livelihood / agricultural inputs

Clothes

Shared with relatives / neighbours

Others

46%

2%15%

3%

5%

8%

2%6%

5%

4%

0%

4%

0% 0%

Food items

House repair / building material

Health / Medicines

Transport

Repaying debts

Power, electricity, gaz, fuel

Water

House rent

Hygiene items

School fees / costs for children

Livelihood / agricultural inputs

Clothes

Shared with relatives / neighbours

Others


5. Coping mechanisms and debts

Table 16: Coping mechanisms used during the last 7 days

Some coping mechanisms are widespread amongst the interviewed households, and used

every day for many, such as relying on less preferred and less expensive food or limiting the portion

size. 26% of the households were also borrowing food more or less frequently, and 30% restricting the

consumption by adults for young children to eat. 4% declared having started a vegetable garden /

poultry farm for their personal consumption.

Table 17: Coping mechanisms used during the last 3 months

14% have already spent all their savings

80% are buying food on credit, and 5.3% can’t use this mechanism anymore. 55% reduced

essential non‐food expenditure, such as education or health. 41% have sold household goods by the

past (jewellery, phone, furniture, home appliances, bicycle etc.) and 7% productive assets or means of

37.5

80.3

55.3

41.4

31.6

1.3

1.3

2.6

48.7

14.5

42.1

48.0

61.2

100.0

98.7

98.7

97.4

13.8

5.3

2.6

10.5

7.2

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0

Spent savings

Bought food on credit or borrowed money to purchase

Reduced essential non‐food expenditure

Sell household goods

Sell productive assets or means of transport

Accepted high risk , illegal, exploitative temporary jobs

Sent adult household members to beg

Sent children household members to beg

Sent Children to work

Yes No No because I have exhausted this coping strategy

1

2

1

2

1

1

5

2

4

3

3

1

3

7

6

5

7

1

9

6

1

10

4

5

1

5

5

3

2

1

0

1

1

39

7

6

26

11

36

74

76

49

70

96

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Rely on less preferred and less expensive food

Borrow food or relied on help from relative (s) or (friends)

Reduce number of meals eaten in a day

Limit portion size at mealtime

Restrict consumption by adults in order for small children to eat.

Started a kitchen garden / poultry for my own consumption

1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days 5 days 6 days 7 days No applied


transportation (sewing machine, wheel barrow, bicycle, car, motor bike) and consumed these

mechanisms fully.

2% of the households sent children to work, 1% sent adults to beg, and 1% sent children to

beg.

86% of the households have debts.

74% borrowed money to their family and friends, 72% to shops & traders, and 2% to money

lenders. 62% borrowed money to both family & friends and shops & traders.

92% of the households who borrowed money used it to purchase food. 45% used the money to cover

health expenses, and purchase food & basic needs.

Table 18: Main use of the cash credit / purchase over the last 3 months?

4. Agriculture

22% of the interviewees own lands. The average size of the land is consequent: 66 Donums3

(min: 18 Donums, max: 200 donums).

38% do not have access to their lands anymore. The reasons are: occupied by armed groups (46%),

presence of mines or UXOs (15%), occupied by other persons (15%), or other reasons such as access

not being granted by the Government / the Peshmerga, or due to the distance combined with the loss

of means of transportation).

59% harvested the last season, and the same (plus few others) were planning to harvest this

year. As explained by assessors ‘Basically, if people have access to their land, they harvest’.

The main crops are wheat and barley. Last season, one private company bought all the harvest in the

region (which was then exported to the south of Iraq). The other option is the black market, which

exploded last year.

3 1 Donum corresponds to 2 500 m2

5

2

6

41

92

78

0

1

2

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Construction

Business investment

Repayment of another credit

Health expenses

Food purchases

Basic needs

Livestock

Agricultural needs

Other


6% only of the interviewed households had livestock (mainly sheep and goats). The impact of

the crisis seemed quite important on that sector, with a big reduction of the herd size. The herd size

before the crisis was about 35 animals on average, with a maximum of 160. It dropped to an average

of 4 animals, with a maximum of 15.

5. Housing

50.7% of the households live alone, without

another family in the same house. In case of

sharing the house, there are on average 2.6

families per the house, the maximum

number of families per house being 6.

Table 19: Housing conditions

38% of the houses are undamaged; 36% are partially damaged (no need for assistance or can

be repaired). Only 5% of the houses cannot be repaired.

Table 20: Level of damage on the houses

50.7 %

10.5 %

38.8 %

Family alone

Share with anotherfamily ‐ Result ofcrisis

Share with anotherfamily ‐ Situationidentical before crisis

5% 21% 38% 20% 16%1

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

What does your house looks like?

Destroyed / Needs complete reconstruction / Cannot be repaired

Over 30% roof damage / Severe fire damage / Need for replacement of floors / Doors and windows destroyed/ Can be repaired

Undamaged

Undamaged or minor damage / Bullet impacts broken hinges and locks in doors and windows roof tiles / Noneed for assistance

Up to 30% roof damage / Light shelling / Partial fire damage / Can be repaired


6. Education

30% of children were not going to school which is mainly due to the cost of transportation.

11% considered that s/he has to work.

Table 21: Reasons why children are not going to school

7. Health

According to informal discussion, it appeared that most of the people are receiving health care

in Syria. For surgery, long‐term / chronic treatment, serious injury, patients are crossing the border,

where doctors and infrastructures are cheaper and easier to access. Crossing is usually done at night,

and depends on the good will of the military authorities.

Less than 10% of the people in need of health services would go to Dohuk, and few only to Zumar,

because of the difficulty to reach the city, and the fact that the services offered are basic.

The most commonly cited illnesses were diarrhoea and skin diseases due to the bad quality of the

water, respiratory infection especially during the winter due to the difficulty to afford heating.

Finally, leishmaniosis was mentioned for the first time during the assessment.

At the beginning of 2016, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) of Duhok investigated

nearly 160 cases, the majority of which being IDPs and people living in the newly liberated areas such

as Rabia.

The number of cases increased in Ninewa mainly because of the population movements. More and

more cases are reported in Rabia area, especially in Rabia city, Al‐Moomy, Abu‐Khashib, Til‐Alhwa,

Jezrouiah. Cases in the city were confirmed.

Cases have been identified as well in Sinuni area and close to the front line – mainly amongst

Peshmerga which is quite critical considering the difficulty to reach a health care. Moreover, due to

limited resources, no indoor spraying and fogging activities have been carried out in the most affected

areas so far.

3

9

11

6

17

23

17

0

9

6

0 5 10 15 20 25

No School

The family needs him / her to stay at home

He / she has to work

Health reasons

Lack of school materials

Cost of transportation

Child disinterested

Absence of appropriate gender educators/ teaching…

Safety / security issues protection concerns for the child

Other (specify)


A few cases had been identified in Dohuk governorate but it affected mainly IDP farmers from Ninewa

who are going back and forth to their fields, and Peshmerga who came back from Sinuni.

Further discussions with other partners allowed FRC to collect more information in the following

weeks, and to design an appropriate response.

8. Social cohesion

22% of the interviewees said that people were not used to support each other and 50.7% said

it changed since the crisis, because people could not afford this practice anymore.

72% of the respondents considered that there is no

distrust inside the community.

Table 22: Suspicion inside the community

A quarter had the feeling that they cannot trust

someone amongst the community. It seems that

distrust is coming from the close presence of ISIS.

Table 23: Do you feel that you cannot trust some

people from your community?

53% of IDP respondents said they felt disadvantaged regarding the access to work or services.

This is explained by the fact that they are not supported by the Mokhtars.

23.7% of families knew that other families had been victims of violence because of their ethnic /

social origin in Rabia city.

75%

19%

6%

No

Yes but onlysince the crisis

Yes but werealreadyexisting beforethe crisis

72%

18%

11%

No

Yes but only since the crisis

Yes but were already existing before thecrisis


9. Wash

1. Access to drinking water

Rabia city is getting water from a multitude of wells. Rabia inhabitants have access to water

through 2 main systems:

Public network: The Municipality estimates that 80% of the population is covered by the public

network. The public network is made of 32 wells, which are on average 180 to 200 meters deep.

Out of the 32 wells, only 2 currently have a functioning chlorination system. The water disinfection

is managed by Rabia Water department.

Impact of the crisis:

ISIS destroyed or stole the pump and the chlorination system of the equipped wells. According

to Municipality, 90% of the network has now been fixed.

Private wells: The Municipality estimated that 20% of the population is using private wells. These

wells were on average 60 meters deep and are covered. The water was pumped and directly

consumed by the households. Some were using homemade filters, and sometimes chlorine.

Impact of the crisis:

o ISIS stole most of the pumps of the private wells (to build weapons with it) – however

according to the Municipality, the household replaced most of the stolen pumps.

o Government, through DoH4, used to distribute chlorine for private disinfection, but this

kind of distribution stopped.

2. Main problems of the drinking water

Quality

Water is not properly disinfected and has

a high level of salt (especially in private

wells as the drillings are not very deep)

which has high impact on the health of

Rabia population.

The Municipality reported many diseases

such as kidney problems (due to the high

level of salt), typhoid, etc.

Table 24: Quality of the water

4 Doh : Direction of Health

53%

22%

25%bad quality

depends of days

good quality


Quantity: the lack of electricity has a strong impact on the population’s access to

water.

At the time of the discussions, one of the employees reported

that he could not refill his water tanks from the public network

over the past 5 days due to the lack of electricity.

Table 25: Quantity of water

Some coping mechanisms have been set up such as purchasing water from water trucks.

In winter, households buy 1 500 litters (for 5 000 IQD – 4.3 USD) every fifth day (30 000 IQD – 25.8 USD

a month). In summer, 1 500 litters (for 5 000 IQD – 4.3 USD) every second day (75 000 IQD – 64.5 USD

a month).

Some families cannot afford to buy water from water trucks. In such cases, they rely on

neighbours and private wells.

3. Grey water

Currently, all the drainage channels in town are on surface. The water is directed to the Jazira

overflow channels out of the city, and pumped away.

2 years ago, the Central Government planned to provide the Municipality with 20 million USD to rebuild

all the city grey water system, with an underground sewage network. However, the design and network

layout, the plans and the budget were not approved by the Central Government.

The drainage channels did not specifically suffer from the crisis. According to the Municipality,

the problem is more a structural one:

- In the Qadissiya area, the channels dragging the grey water out of the city is regularly blocked

by garbage. The community is used to throw garbage everywhere without taking into account

the impact on the channel.

- In the market and city center, 600 meters of drainpipe have been partially damaged, due to

lack of maintenance.

4. Black water

All respondents said they had access to a toilet, and that it was in good condition.

In terms of black water management, the same system is used in the whole city: 1 sceptic/holding tank

per house, desludging being taken care of by the households for a cost of 75 000 IQD (64.1 USD).

Normally the desludging operations have to be conducted every 7 years. None of them mentioned any

impact due the crisis.

42%58%

No

Yes


5. Solid waste

53% of the respondents brought the garbage

directly to the dumping site which is very near of

the village (around 6 km); 18% put it in the

streets.

Table 26: System used to manage the solid waste

at household level

Garbage collection is considered by the Municipality as the main issue, followed by water

disinfection. Even if the Municipality owns some equipment (1 compactor, 1 grader, and 1 bulldozer),

most of them have been destroyed by ISIS.

Moreover, the Municipality does not have the budget to pay for the running costs of the machines, nor

the salary of workers in charge of the collection and transportation.

The daily workers previously employed by the Municipality worked for 6 months for free, but finally

stopped.

In terms of local solution, such as asking the households to contribute and fund the solid waste

collection, it seems that the Municipality tried in the past months but failed. Only few households were

actually paying, lots of people refused or could not afford it.

It seems that an informal garbage collection system started in the past months, but that it is not

reliable. The shops had to pay each time between 5 000 (4.3 USD) to 10 000 IQD (8.6 USD) for garbage

to be collected, but the daily workers did not come every time.

53%

16%

11%

18%

1% Bring it to adump site

Burn it

Burry it in awaste pit

In the street

Other


Annex: Terms of reference

1) HISTORIC AND JUSTIFICATION OF THE SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT

This assessment constitutes the first step of a Cash Based Intervention project in Rabe’a city.

Beginning of 2015, the French Red Cross expanded its strategy outside the border of KRI, in

‘newly freed areas’ of Iraq. After a needs evaluation conducted over several months in the Zumar and

its surrondings, the FRC, supported by UNDP launched a Cash for Work (CfW) project, which included

waste collection, and market place and shop's rehabilitation activities.

After this first experience at Zumar, the FRC had the possibility to duplicate this project at

Rabe’a in 2016.

Such as Zumar area, Rabe’a needs a quick intervention to rapidly inject cash into the local

economy, to give sufficient purchasing power to local households to enable the jump‐start of

livelihoods activities, and to partially restore community infrastructures/places, especially regarding

waste management, to offer services in a clean and secure environment for the population.

Hence, SIS took control of Rabia ‐ a strategic sub‐district (nahiya in arabic) located in Ninewa

province between Mosul and Syria at the north of Sinjar border, in August 2014. The sub district of

Rabia which is part of Tal Afar district represents a key position as it is a border crossing traditionally

known as a lucrative business center for local tribes and multiple Iraqi governments. The border town

of Rabia has been at the forefront of fierce fighting due to this strategic importance. By November

2014, Rabia was a ghost town and the city suffered heavy destruction.

In October 2014, Rabia was liberated in a relatively quick operation because of the joint Sunni Arab

Shammar‐Peshmerga alliance that attacked under cover of coalition air support.

Almost a year after its clearing, the picture in Rabia is mixed. One of the successes in the area

is its repopulation. Indeed, 12 000 out of 13 000 families have returned. In term of security, the area is

stable as the Peshmerga forces are stationed around the sub‐district with locals providing security

inside the city. To be noted that ISIS has not been able to represent a threat to Rabia since October

2014. However, beyond the security aspect, life conditions in Rabia are harsh. Indeed, the

infrastructure and services are still depleted partly because of the ongoing anti‐ISIS war, the country’s

economic crisis, and the disputed territory politics’ consequences. The federal government is

skeptically about the possibility for Rabia to build alliances with Erbil. In addition, the KRG is unable or

unwilling to fully commit itself to a territory outside the constitutionally‐defined Iraqi Kurdistan. Rabia

has been under‐resourced for a long period of time.

The crisis has still an important impact on the humanitarian situation in Rabia and the

returnees are currently struggling to regain a normal course of life.

The destruction wrought by conflict in the sub‐districts is particularly important in that the damages

have affected local infrastructures, access to services, the local economy and the social fabric of

originally diverse areas. One of the main consequences is the general impoverishment of the area, and


the use of de‐capitalizing survival mechanisms by population who return, although they do not have a

lot of assets left after the occupation of the area by AOGs. Community mechanisms, economic and

agricultural activities are most of the times negatively affected.

Rabia is well‐known for its fertile soil and agriculture, but the conflict has seriously affected

both main sources of livelihoods – farming and herding. In addition, IEDs and other remnants of war

remain a threat in the villages and fields, impeding the revival of the local economy, wounding and

killing dozens and wreaking further havoc in communities, which were already affected by chronic

under‐development.

Local authority buildings have been devastated during the conflict, paralyzing public

administration. In terms of public service provision, the lack of water, sanitation and solid waste

management systems are posing serious health risks. Sewage channels blocked, by damage or lack of

maintenance, are overflowing raw sewage into the streets. The looting or destruction of the entire

collection system has resulted in the piling up solid waste in street. Even tools for street cleaning are

no longer available.

In order to prepare the project implementation, several assessments will be conducted in

January / February 2016. These assessments will provide FRC with essential data which could be shared

eventually with humanitarian partners, to clarify some information and anticipate all of the risks or

issues which could appear during project implementation.

Multi‐Sectorial Assessment (focus groups, HH surveys, informal discussions)

Focus Groups with key informants and creation of the

Community Platform

Cash for workers selection through HH

surveys

Technical assessment: work site identification

1 3 42


2) OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSESSMENT

The objective of this assessment is to prepare the activities implementation.

Each phase has its own objectives, and different data are expected to emerge from various collection

methods which will be used.

1. Multi‐sectorial assessment – HH surveys

This assessment has several objectives:

- Identify and measure the humanitarian needs of a crisis‐affected community and provide

quantitative data and allow drafting a socio economic profile of the population. FRC team will

especially focus on the thematic of livelihoods and social cohesion, however the assessment

will be wide enough to indicate the full situation, and various technical sectors will be assessed:

water, sanitation, food security, health, shelter, agriculture, market, education… This data will

be used as a baseline for the project, and provide information to design an exit strategy.

- Information gathered will allow identifying the different wealth groups in the community, and

the exposure and risks levels in order to design relevant vulnerability criteria for the CFWorkers

selection.

- The participants will be asked their opinion about the Community Platform and who should be

included, to design the Focus Groups

2. Focus groups for the CP creation

Focus groups are aiming at:

‐ Present the project to the community representatives

‐ Identify, describe and analyze the community groups and the economic and social fabric of Rabe’a

‐ Present the rule and the involvement of a Community Platform throughout the project

‐ Decide of the methodology to be used to create a Community Platform

At the end of each Focus Group, participant should agree on who will be of the Community Platform.

3. Vulnerability surveys for the workers’selection

The vulnerability survey will allow establishing a scoring for each person willing to take part to

the Cash For Work activity. Each participant will be attributed a vulnerability score calculated based on

the answers given in the survey. The scoring threshold and criteria will have been approved by the

community platform and Municipality before use. If the person has a score in a range defined, s/he will

be shortlisted and her/his name given to the Community Platform for approval.

4. Technical assessment for the works sites identification

The technical assessment will be performed to identify quarters/sites of intervention and

waste management works in public spaces. This assessment will provide a list of sites to submit to the

community platform and the municipality, who will support the FRC team to prioritize the work.


3) METHODOLOGY OF THE ASSESSMENT

1. Multi‐Sectorial Assessment.

Considered as the first step, the assessment team will be composed by 5 twosomes from

various backgrounds. All of them have participated in previous assessments and are experienced in

using the tools and methods mentioned below. They will be supported by FRC Zumar team, who went

through the same assessment process.

They will be supervised by the Project Manager, the Project Officer, and the Livelihood

Monitoring Assistant.

The team will be in charge of collecting information through closed face‐to‐face interviews.

Interviews will be conducted on Samsung Galaxy tablets using the ODK App and data compiled in a

password protected online database for analysis.

Household level questionnaires will allow to systematically collecting information from a

sample of the population. The city being divided in 7 areas, each one managed by a different Moktar,

each team will be attributed 1 area. HH will be randomly choosen using a sample step. As asked for by

the Municipality and customary required, Moktars might be present during the interview, especially

with women headed households

The information gathered during the assessment will contribute to design the next step and to

decide who will be part of the Focus Groups.

2. Focus Group (FG) discussions

In parallel, FG discussions with disaggregated groups of the community, such as women, men,

youth, authorities, religious and minority groups will be conducted. The aim is to understand the

community social fabric in order to create the Community Platform (CP). Focus groups will allow to

record attitudes, perceptions and beliefs relevant to various issues. The FG will be facilitated by the

Project Officer, the Project Manager and the Monitoring Assistant. They will introduce the topics and

use a prepared interview guide to lead the discussion and extract conversations, opinions and

reactions.

At the end of the Focus Groups, participants should agree on the CP members’ / community

representative for the whole project duration.

3. Vulnerability survey

Based on the multi‐sectorial assessment and the approval of the hypothesis and selection

criteria by the CP, the most vulnerable household will have the possibility to apply to participate to the

project. A vulnerability survey will be performed on the interested people to select the 200

participants, following the below process:


The team will be in charge of collecting information through closed face‐to‐face interviews.

Interviews will be conducted on Samsung Galaxy tablets using the ODK App and data compiled in a

password protected online database for analysis.

4. Technical assessment

Finally, a technical assessment will be conducted by a team of assessors recruited locally. The

Areas Team Leaders from the Zumar’s team will take part to the assessment too. The teams will be

supervised by the field‐supervisor and the project officer, and supported by the project manager and

the monitoring assistant. The data collected will include GPS points and pictures of the sites.

4) WORKPLAN AND LENGTH OF THE MISSION

Under the responsibility of the Livelihoods Coordinator; the CBI Program Manager, the Project

Officer and the Monitoring Assistant, the assessment teams will be in charge of carrying out the above

mentioned assessments in Rabe’a city.

The assessment will last several weeks and be split in several phases, starting from 26th of

January with a pilot of the multi‐sectorial assessment questionnaire.

For a detail workplan see Annex 1

January February

18/01

‐

21/01

24/01

‐

28/01

31/01

‐

04/02

07/02

‐

11/02

14/02

‐

18/02

21/02

‐

25/02

Phase 0 ‐ Preparation

Phase 1 ‐ Multi‐sectorial assessment

Phase 2 ‐ Community Plateform

Phase 3: Cash for workers selection through HH

surveys

Phase 4 ‐ Waste management assessment

Community is informed about the project

(meetings, poster, CP involvement)

People can 'apply' during 2 weeks:

1. They come to the office and do the

vulnerability survey directly

2. They provide their name and phone

number, and a survey is scheduled later

People are short‐listed based on vulnerability

criterias

The list is submitted to the Community Platform

The Community Platform approves the list and may recommand additional

vulnerable HH

Vulnerability surveys are conducted following the same process until 200 workers are identified


The assessment team is expected to leave FRC Dohuk office at 8:00AM on the morning, arrive

in Rabia around 9.30 AM (the length of the travel may depend of the security situation and checkpoint

crossing). As the team has to come back to Dohuk before the night for obvious security reasons,

departure will be fixed at 3:00PM from Rabe’a. The estimated number of working hours on the field is

around 5h/day.

5) EXPECTED RESULTS

1. The assessment tools are designed and usable: multi‐sectorial assessment questionnaire, focus

groups discussions guidance, interview guidance with key informants/local authorities,

vulnerability questionnaire, technical assessment questionnaire.

2. The team is trained on the assessment objective and methodology

3. The team is training on security issues and behaviour by FRC logistics department

4. The multi‐sectorial assessment is carried out

5. The collected data is computerized and analysed

6. The community platform is created

7. 200 vulnerable persons are identified to participate to the cash for work activities

8. Works sites are identified and means needed defined

9. A report on the situation analysis and conclusion on the needs is drafted

10. Two data‐bases for the workers selected, and for the sites identified, are designed and usable

6) ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Base : Dohuk

Budget available and donor: UNDP

- Daily workers salary (45.000 IQD/day)

Material to bring on the field:

- 1 satellite telephone per car

- Authorization letter from Asayish and Governor’s Office

- Mission order

- A safety envelops with 100$/person

- Extra phone credit

- ID, residency card, passports and FRC cards

- Jackets with visibility

- GPS and maps

- 5 Tablets

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