The NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) aims to coordinate NGO action throughout all of Iraq. In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) NCCI however only has one office, which is located in Erbil. To better serve its members in all governorates of the KRI and reach out to NGOs who are currently not members NCCI organized a number of meetings in Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah throughout the month of October.

In Sulaymaniyah NCCI met ten local and international NGOs to discuss the situation regarding NGO coordination in the governorate and NCCI’s services there. Issues raised by the attendants included the limited humanitarian coordination structure in Sulaymaniyah and the need to strengthen the capacity of local NGOs. As a lot of NGOs in Sulaymaniyah work around host community issues they also stressed the lack of international attention the host community receives.  NCCI’s members in Sulaymaniyah also asked for a more regular NCCI presence in the governorate.

Later in October similar meetings were held in Dohuk, which were attended by fifteen local and international NGOs. Even more so than in Sulaymaniyah, it was made clear that local NGOs in Dohuk would like capacity building support.  NCCI was also asked to support NGO coordination and function as a focal point between NGOs and the local government. NCCI hopes these meetings will be the start of a more regular presence in all of the KRI’s governorates.