I have been in Iraq working for French humanitarian agency Acted for two months now, arriving in the immediate days following the capture of Mosul by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis). The Duhok governorate in the far northwest has been my home for most of this time, nestled between Turkey to the north, Syria to the west, and Mosul an hour to the south.

The sleepy town of Duhok – with its newly built wide roads and shining malls mingling alongside run-down shawarma restaurants and quiet corner shops – has been a major staging ground for one of the largest humanitarian relief operations in recent years. The signs of the conflict to the south are increasingly showing – fuel shortages have resulted in lengthy queues at petrol stations and power cuts occur for up to five hours a day. Moreover, a general tone of concern is rising as the threat of Isis grows by the day.

My fourth day here was spent in a hastily established, under-prepared camp for displaced Iraqis. When our team arrived we were met by more than 200 hungry and tired families, waiting patiently for food distribution. The temperature outside was 47°C, and at least 5°C hotter inside the tents. Men draped damp towels across their necks to shield themselves from the sun and its oppressive heat, as women tried to keep their young children cool. The poorest mingle with doctors, teachers, and engineers – displaced together, and arriving into the same conditions.

The recent influx from Sinjar, an Iraqi town near the Syrian border, is proving to be one of the most challenging since the onset of the crisis in mid-June. Predominantly drawn from the Yazidi ethnic group, an estimated 200,000 people have fled to the relative safety of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, becoming some of the estimated 1 million displaced people in Iraq as a whole.

While tensions have been evident at times – normal in the midst of a crisis – local communities are providing shelter and food to new arrivals as and when they can, greatly adding to the overall humanitarian effort.

Local people in Duhok are providing food and shelter to displaced people. Photograph: Clement Rouquette, Acted Photograph: Acted

No day ever fully goes to plan. As the frontlines change, with areas switching from Isis control to the Kurdish Peshmarga forces and back again, the environment in which we operate has become increasingly insecure and uncertain. An area you had access to one week, may be too dangerous the next. Half of my days are spent just responding to these developments and the resulting logistical challenges. Our team sits each weekend to plan where we will distribute aid in the coming week, though invariably these locations will change.

The pace of the response has been relentless for much of the past two months, and it’s starting to show on our faces. Most of us are working 16 hours or more a day, seven days a week. As the conflict continues to shift and expand, a continued effort needs to be made to support those who are displaced and the Iraqi communities helping them.

More resources, better planning and less bureaucracy are all needed. Iraqi people need longer-term solutions. But at a time when we are faced with more humanitarian and political crises than at any other point in recent memory, while having to adapt to the current funding realities, it is clear that this will not happen any time soon.

In all honesty we were unprepared in June when Mosul fell to Isis. There are things we can do to ensure we are better prepared next time. As I write this we have begun preparing for the next wave. We as the humanitarian community must ensure we lift our heads long enough to monitor events as they unfold, we must ensure our rapid response mechanisms are rehearsed and ready to roll out at a moment’s notice. Moreover, we must begin preparations for the period to come in which people no longer simply need food, water, and basic shelter, but also education, employment, and psycho-social care.

This can only happen if the global community makes a long-term commitment to the vulnerable people we are assisting. The immediate advance of Isis is seemingly halting – but the impact of their actions will remain.

William McCready is an area coordinator for Acted. Follow @ACTED on Twitter.

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