UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations top envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Wednesday called on the international community to continually provide funding and support for Iraq's post-conflict reconstruction programs.
Hennis-Plasschaert, special representative of the UN secretary-general for Iraq, told the Security Council that both the Funding Facility for Stabilization and the Humanitarian Response Plan are underfunded, with gaps of over 300 million U.S. dollars and 500 million dollars respectively.
"Progress has been made, but the road ahead is long and complex," she said.
Hennis-Plasschaert said that due to the continued underfunding, Iraq's post-conflict humanitarian programming is being hindered.
For example, vital healthcare services are being suspended, internally displaced persons (IDPs) schools shuttered and food distribution cycles interrupted, she said, adding that around 1.6 million IDPs are still "waiting to return to their homes in safety and dignity."
Meanwhile, 4.3 million people have returned home, but the pace has slowed, and outstanding needs are most acute in the health, electricity and water sectors, said the envoy.
Noting that donors have been asking the Government of Iraq to demonstrate shared ownership by taking part in the financing of this work, she said the government moments ago signed a cost-sharing agreement to begin making its own contributions to the Funding Facility.
