The Higher Committee for Health and National Safety, which directs and coordinates Iraq’s national efforts to combat Covid-19, announced on Saturday that the Iraqi government was making available a temporary monthly grant to those affected by the nationwide curfew and other restrictions.

The grant is only available to Iraqi citizens who are residing in Iraq.

Government employees, those receiving state pensions, social security payments or any other income from the state are not eligible to apply.

Those eligible can apply to receive the grant via a dedicated website, minha.iq between Saturday 11 April and midday on Thursday 16 April.

After completing the simple application process, each applicant will be allocated a unique identification number. Applications will then be reviewed and verified, and once approved, applicants will be notified before the end of April on how and when they will receive the grant.

Several Iraqi ministries and state institutions announced earlier other measures to provide relief to various groups and to lessen the burden caused by Covid-19, the curfew and other restrictions, including:

• The suspension of mortgage repayments for three months for borrowers from the Ministry of Housing, Construction and  Municipalities’ Housing Fund
• The suspension for three months of the repayment of loans obtained from the Central Bank of Iraq’s ‘1 and 5 trillion dinars’ finance schemes for small and medium size business projects

The Higher Committee for Health and National Safety and other government agencies continue to  assess the impact of the current health emergency on Iraqi citizens, and will announce other measures later.