REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, UNITED NATIONS -- The UN emergency food relief agency Monday called for improving nutrition awareness and strengthening social safety nets to avoid a hunger crisis in Iraq.

In its Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis, prepared jointly with the Iraqi Government, the UN World Food Program (WFP) also underlined the need to improve access to education, especially for girls, as an important component in the fight against hunger.

"(The Analysis) should guide the work of the government, policy makers, and humanitarians across the country to improve the food security and nutrition status of every Iraqi so that no one is left behind," the WFP Representative and Country Director in Iraq, Sally Haydock, said in a news release.

The study, one of the most robust technical food security studies ever conducted in Iraq, was conducted prior to the recent offensive in Mosul and does not capture the food security situation among people fleeing these conflict areas.

Data collection was concluded in 2016 and included first-hand surveys with more than 20,000 families in urban and rural areas as well as with those who are internally displaced.

Findings revealed that 2.5 percent of the country's population is already food insecure, a level of need that requires support.

Most families in the country will no longer be able to feed themselves if basic food prices increase or fighting escalates, according to WFP.

Analysis also showed that 53 percent of residents and 66 percent of internally displaced people are vulnerable to food insecurity.

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries. 

In Iraq, WFP urgently requires 113 million U.S. dollars to continue to provide full monthly rations and cash-based assistance to cover the needs of 1.5 million vulnerable Iraqis until the end of September 2017. 

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