BAGHDAD , Iraq ( CNN ) -- Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie is visiting Iraq to boost what she sees as lagging efforts to deal with the problems of 2 million `` very very vulnerable '' internally displaced people in the wartorn country . Angelina Jolie has been working to focus attention on problem of refugees in Iraq . `` There does n't seem to be a real coherent plan to help them , '' said Jolie , speaking in an exclusive interview with CNN 's Arwa Damon Thursday . `` There 's lots of goodwill . Lots of discussion , but there seems to be a lot of talk at the moment , and a lot of pieces that need to be put together . I 'm trying to figure out what they are . '' A goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees , Jolie wants to find ways to help the agency be more active inside war-torn Iraq . Watch CNN 's exclusive interview with Jolie » . Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence in the country has sparked a displacement crisis that is considered the most significant in the Middle East since the 1948 creation of Israel . More than 4.2 million Iraqis have fled their homes , around 2 million to neighboring states , mostly Syria and Jordan , and another 2.2 million displaced inside Iraq . The flight was aggravated by the February 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra , an attack that stoked pitched sectarian warfare . Many of the internally displaced live precarious lives amid conditions of squalor , crowded into camps and slums that often lack basic necessities , such as proper food , health care and shelter . `` How Iraq settles in the years to come is going to affect the entire Middle East , '' said Jolie . `` It 's in our best interest to address a humanitarian crisis on this scale because displacement can lead to a lot of instability and aggression . '' Read transcript of interview . Jolie has been working to help draw attention to the problem and has called for governments to bolster their support of the U.N.H.C.R . In August , Jolie first visited Iraq and Syria to get a sense of the problem . She heard stories from refugees about their plight . Watch as Jolie lunches with troops » . This visit to Iraq is focusing on the problems of the internally displaced , 58 percent of whom are under age 12 . A top issue for the agency is getting better security . Jolie is talking with U.S. officials , including top U.S. Gen. David Petraeus , about that issue , and are willing to provide such security which she said `` needs to be addressed and solved . '' The Iraqi government needs to empower agencies that deal with migration to address the concerns of the displaced -- but that has not happened yet , she said . Jolie said it was crucial that the government prepare a plan to deal with refugees who return home from Syria and Jordan and find that their homes are `` occupied '' by others or `` bombed out . '' She emphasizes the way in which these people are resettled will have `` broad implications '' in the region . Jolie also is talking to people about moving forward the U.S. effort to resettle Iraqi refugees in the United States , which has set a goal of taking in 12,000 of those people by September . Only 375 have been admitted so far . `` I have to believe there are people working toward that goal , '' she said . International agencies , such as the United Nations and the Arab League , and many countries in the region and in Europe are addressing the refugee and the internally displaced persons ' crisis , and money is being allocated to Iraq and host countries to help clothe , feed and house people . Most of the refugees are in Syria and Jordan , and they reside in big cities like Damascus and Amman . The U.N.C.H.R . is trying to help governments in Syria and Jordan to cope with the influx , which has stretched the resources of institutions like schools and health systems . It is also attempting to help 41,000 non-Iraqi refugees in Iraq , such as Palestinians and Iranians . Last month , the UNHCR announced a plan to seek $ 261 million this year for its work to help these refugees . It has almost 350 staffers `` directly engaged in operations for Iraq and the surrounding region . '' Officials in Iraq and the coalition have been heartened by the fact that some refugees are starting to trickle back home . But they are returning to a country where mixed Shiite and Sunni neighborhoods have turned into Sunni or Shiite enclaves and that they might not be able to return to their homes . E-mail to a friend .
Angelina Jolie visits Iraq to boost efforts to help internally displaced refugees . Actress tells CNN : `` There does n't seem to be real coherent plan to help them '' Jolie is goodwill ambassador for U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees . More than 4.2 million Iraqis have fled homes , 2 million to neighboring states .