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Welcome to Cluster 10 - Poverty Reduction & Human Development section of the UN Iraq Web Portal.

The purpose of this section is to provide information on activities related to Poverty Reduction & Human Development, undertaken by the United Nations and its partners. 

General information on the Cluster

Overview and Challenges:

Iraq’s ranking in the UN Human Development index dropped from 76 in 1991 to 127 in 2001. International sanctions and successive wars have worsened the humanitarian situation and overall quality of life has deteriorated with a marked increase in vulnerability levels.

The Iraqi economy was previously dominated by the state through the many state-owned enterprises. There was little entrepreneurship culture and little government encouragement for private enterprises to flourish. In parallel, unemployment levels are currently of great concern. According to the UN/World Bank Needs Assessment of 2003 the unemployment rate has risen to about 50%, with the collapse of government-based employment, state-owned industries, the dismissal of civil servants and the demobilisation of the army. The livelihood of millions of Iraqis is still in great threat, and the vast numbers of unemployed further exacerbate the generally poor security situation.

The UN's Work in Iraq:

The UN’s vision for the reduction of poverty is to focus on stabilising the current situation through immediate employment, thus providing livelihood opportunities for many Iraqis, supporting a cultural change in the economy through providing new and diverse opportunities to Iraqis, working with authorities in policy advice and technical capacity building, and targeting projects towards Iraq’s vulnerable communities.

The UN has global experience in this field, with an ability to manage systemic change from the ground-level, providing practical, sustainable support all the way through to ministries and policy planning, whilst still ensuring that marginalised groups are fully included in the process.

Future Works and Activities:

Since the end of hostilities in 2003 UN agencies have been working in many different areas of poverty reduction: implementing immediate labour-driven programmes throughout the country, targeting vulnerable communities in both urban and rural areas for employment and development, and working with new Iraqi authorities in areas of policy and advice.

In 2004 and beyond the following are prioritised activities:

• Assist in building capacities so as to continuously provide immediate income across the whole country through labour and community based projects in the productive and services sector.

•  Providing high-level policy advice for public decision makers in the economy and human development, private sector development and productive employment, economic and other international priorities.

• Helping Iraqi authorities to build institutional capacity in order to address employment concerns and deliver effective social services, whilst reflecting human development principles in all budgetary and economic policies.

• Assist Iraq in Improving information and systems so that the potential employees become aware of opportunities made available.

• Coordinate completion of essential reports - living conditions, human development, labour market opportunities, vocational training, entrepreneurship development in the micro- and small scale enterprise development sector – in order to make it possible for all concerned to review, analyse and understand constraints and prioritise their work accordingly.

• Assist the Iraqi authorities to develop a range of specialised poverty-reduction programmes targeting  different  regions and beneficiaries, including women; bringing Iraqi professional expatriates to work in government and  the private sector; starting vocational and technical  training schemes; establishing a social fund; community-based small-scale private enterprises in the productive sector; supporting employment centres, and working in urban slums.

• Provide direct support in attracting FDI through investment promotion and facilitation. This would involve formulation of investment promotion strategies and developing/strengthening of appropriate organisational structure, such as an Investment Promotion Agency, or an Investment Promotion unit.

UN Trust Fund Projects:

• RQN/TOKTEN – Iraqis Rebuilding Iraq

This project aims to enhance the institutional capacity of the Iraqi Ministries and other Iraqi public sector institutions through the short and long-term deployment of selected Iraqi émigré experts. The preparatory phase cost, which has been approved by the Trust Fund, is USD 378,000. The project total Budget is USD 3,300,000.

• The International Employment Conference “Employment for the future of Iraq”

This conference aims to establish a platform for discussions and exchanges of experiences between Iraqi decision makers on the best means to promote employment through international best practices and to support the setting up of an Inter-Ministerial Board on Employment. The total cost of this activity is USD 300,000.

Partners of the Poverty Reduction and Human Development Cluster:

UNDP, ILO, UNIFEM, UNICEF, UNDP, UNOPS, UNIDO, ESCWA and IOM who will work closely with the WB, the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of  Industries and Mines, the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation,  the Ministry of Interior, Central Statistics Organisation, local municipalities, national and international NGOs, finacial  and private sector agencies, media, academic and research institutions. There will also be close collaboration with other agencies, given the impact of employment and income generation across sectors, notably UNHCR/IOM working in the area of IDPs and Refugees, and FAO/WFP working in both cluster (6): Food Security and cluster (5): Agriculture, Water Resources, and Environment.

Cluster Manager :  Alia AlDalli
Email address : alia.al-dalli@undp.org

Deputy Cluster Manager: Jose Salema
Email address: joses@unopsmail.org

Documents
Library of Poverty Reduction & Human Development related information - containing repots, assessments and related information.

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