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Polish minister on humanitarian reconnaissance trip to Iraq

PR dla Zagranicy
Alicja Baczyńska 08.12.2018 12:00
Poland’s minister for humanitarian aid, Beata Kempa, is on Saturday travelling to Iraq to appraise the humanitarian situation in areas affected by the offensive of the so-called Islamic State, she told Polish Radio.
Photo: janeb13/pixabay.com/CC0 Creative CommonsPhoto: janeb13/pixabay.com/CC0 Creative Commons

The five-day visit is expected to help streamline the relief efforts of Polish NGOs operating in the country and developing international aid projects with organisations such as USAID, one of the largest official US aid organisations in the world.

Kempa said: “Over the past two years, the [Polish] government earmarked around PLN 5 million [EUR 1.17m, USD 1.33m] for aid in Iraq, but we seek to increase funding for the cause, redirect and systemise it.”

Kempa is to visit Baghdad, where she will meet the head of UNESCO in Iraq, Louise Haxthausen, and UN special envoy for Iraq Alice Walpole. On Sunday, Kempa will meet Iraqi foreign, environment and health ministers.

The agenda of Kempa’s trip also includes visits to Polish-funded aid projects across Iraqi Kurdistan.

These include the construction of enclosures and handing over livestock to widows with children. The Polish state has also funded 500 makeshift module houses and the reconstruction of workplaces such as doctors' offices, workshops and grocery shops.

In Kurdistan’s capital, Irbil, Kempa is expected to meet the President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani, and Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani.

(aba)

Source: Polish Radio, IAR

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