The director of Kirkuk branch for State Food Supply confirmed that the deadline for updating ration cards is June 6, 2025. Updates are done exclusively via the electronic ration card application on smartphones, without the need for citizens to visit the site in person except in urgent cases and to address technical issues.
Talal Mahmoud Youssef told KirkukNow, "There is no direct review, and the update is done only through the electronic ration card application."
He pointed out that failure to update data by the specified deadline will result in the temporary withholding of the monthly food ration, explaining that it can be restored later by submitting an electronic application to lift the withholding once the reasons for the withholding have been removed.
The state-subsidized monthly food rations started during the Oil-for-Food Program which the United Nations UN imposed on Iraq in the 1990’s when the country was under an embargo.
The food basket has been continued after toppling Saddam Hussein regime in 2003 yet there have been many complaints about the quality and quantity of those rations.
Updating Children's Data: Obstacle of Unified National Card
Regarding the mechanism for updating data for children under 12-years-old, Youssef explained that "it is necessary to issue a unified national card for them," noting that some parents still believe that the card's issuance age begins at 12, while current regulations allow for issuance to children as soon as possible.
"It is possible that these regulations are outdated, and now any family can book an appointment to begin issuing unified cards and complete the update. The procedures are now easy and only require the citizen's own action."
Regarding families whose members do not have a national card and the steps to be taken in such cases, the Director of the Kirkuk Supply Branch said, "Every family that knows of a data deficiency should begin booking a national card. By this time, they should have issued the card and completed the update procedures on the app. However, if they do not take these steps, unfortunately, the solution will be blocking due to families' negligence in completing the national card issuance procedures."
Of the total 42 million Iraqis, nearly 11 million live below the poverty line, which is equivalent to 25% of the population, compared to 20% in 2020 according to the statistics of the Iraqi Ministry of Planning.
About 50% of the foodstuffs included in the state food basket are unfit for use, and every Iraqi citizen wastes 120 kilograms of food per year, according to statistics of the European Union Advisory Mission EUAM in Iraq in 2022.
Facilities for People with Special Needs and Divorced Women
Youssef announced a special mechanism within the Kirkuk Supply Branch to update the data of people with special needs, divorce cases, and citizens facing technical problems or incorrect entry into the application.
He said that these cases are included in a special program sent to Baghdad for manual processing, noting that most of these problems have been resolved within the Kirkuk Supply Center.
"We have a team of engineers, led by me, who follow up on the problems of all clients on a daily basis."
Blocking includes those abraod
Concluding his remarks, Youssef emphasized that citizens residing outside Iraq are not entitled to update their cards or benefit from the ration quota, saying, "The application requires geographic location activation, and if it is discovered that the user is outside Iraq, the ration card for the entire family is blocked, and there may be legal repercussions."
