Iraq Success Stories
Recent Features
Iraqis Gain Improved Access to Courts - November 2008
Led by prominent Iraqi lawyers, the Kirkuk Jurists Union (KJU) has improved access to courts and provided legal protection to Kirkuk's disadvantaged residents, enabling them to assert their individual rights.
Iraqi Agriculture Fair Brings Hope - November 2008
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Inma Agribusiness Project opened doors to 200 business and agriculture professionals from around the globe, for the first time, at the Erbil Agro Food Expo in November 2008. The exposition demonstrated the Iraqi's commitment to attract foreign investment to the country, advancing U.S. government's efforts to bring economic opportunities and stability to the region.
Iraqi Children Go Back to School - October 2008
Iraqi children in Anbar Province returned to school this month carrying brand new backpacks filled with supplies provided by the USAID-supported "Operation Backpack."
Community Leaders and Entrepreneurs Gain Business Skills at Baghdad Center - July 2007
On July 11, 2007, the first graduates of a business-skills pro-gram developed in partnership between a local district council and the Baghdad Small Business Development Center (SBDC) received certificates marking their completion of “How to Start Up or Improve a Business.” Supported through Izdihar, a USAID-funded program promoting private sector development, the five-day course at the Baghdad SBDC teaches modern business principles and strategies.
USAID Helps Strengthen Local Governance in Babil - April 2007
Working in coordination with the Babil Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), the USAID Local Governance Program recently sponsored two events in Al-Hillah demonstrating the province's commitment to encouraging civic involvement and to bolstering local governance.
Literacy Campaign Empowers Iraqi Women, Engages Local Communities - April 2007
USAID's women's literacy campaign is part of its Community Action Program (CAP). Implemented by USAID partners, the campaign targets women in Maysan, Qadissiyah, and Wassit, and a roll-out in Basrah is expected soon. The response from the community has been encouraging, with thousands of Iraqi women taking advantage of the two-part program.
Tatweer Scholarship Program for Studies in Public Management - March 2007
To help strengthen Iraq's civil service corps, Tatweer, the USAID-funded program for national capacity development, will award up to 75 scholarships for Masters or certificate-level studies in public management. Announced in November 2006, the Tatweer scholarship program awarded six scholarships in its first round, securing placements for scholarship recipients at American University in Cairo's School of Business.
USAID Trains Loan Officers for Iraqi Microfinance Institutions - March 2007
As a future loan officer for an indigenous microfinance institution based in Baghdad, Manar, a 27-year-old Iraqi woman, has an ambition: to assist in the economic development of her country.
Iraqi Ministries Work Together to Coordinate Information Security and Management - March 2007
As part of the USAID-funded Economic Governance II Project to assist in economic reconstruction and policy reform in Iraq, USAID is working with the Government of Iraq (GOI) to improve information security for sensitive public and private information.
USAID and the Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees Sign $5m Grant Agreement - March 2007
In February 2007, USAID and the Iraqi Company for Bank Guarantees (ICBG) signed a grant agreement under which USAID will provide $5 million (USD) to the ICBG to supplement its loan-guarantee fund.
Success Story: CBI Pushes Through Reforms to Reserve Requirements - January 2007
USAID economic advisors work with the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) to develop monetary policy in line with international best practices. After 18 months of effort, USAID Economic Governance II advisors working with CBI staff have finally won support from the Iraqi Ministry of Justice to enact changes in the CBI reserve requirement regulation that will help maintain price stability in Iraq
Success Story: Istanbul Workshop Brings Consensus on Draft Secured Transactions Law - January 2007
USAID economic advisors provide GOI with technical assistance for commercial legal framework. As part of efforts to facilitate economic reconstruction and policy reform in Iraq, the USAID-funded Economic Governance II project is working with the Government of Iraq (GOI) to implement a sound and transparent commercial legal framework that fosters the rule of law and promotes a burgeoning private sector.
Fall 2006
Contents:
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs launches USAID-funded Social Safety Net Pilot Center to assist poor families in Iraq
As part of the USAID-Funded Economic Governance II Project
to help in the economic reconstruction and policy reform
in Iraq, technical assistance
is being provided to
assist capacity building and
institutional strengthening in
the Ministry of Finance (MoF)
and Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs (MoLSA). With
USAID’s support, the Government
of Iraq (GoI) is developing
pension policy,
strategy and legislative reforms.
The GoI is also implementing
a Social Safety Net
program to reduce poverty
and mitigate the impact of
fuel and food subsidy removal
on poor and vulnerable
families throughout Iraq.
Preserving knowledge, enhancing services
Rebuilding a city as large as Basrah is a daunting
undertaking requiring an accurate and up to date foundation of data and
maps as a starting point. In Basrah, and throughout Iraq, that foundation has
been neglected for decades, but no longer. Basrah municipal departments and the local citizens who depend on them for
public services will soon benefit from a digital mapping project that is converting
thousands of cloth and paper maps, many in poor condition, into a single
electronic map of the entire city.
The Basrah Provincial Council requested the ambitious project, which builds
on a map scanning effort launched as part of the Local Governance Project
(LGP) in 2004 funded by USAID.
Technical assistance leads to a stronger banking
supervision department
The role of the Central Bank of
Iraq (CBI) is to maintain price
stability through the execution
of monetary policy as intermediated
through the financial
system. As banks are the primary
financial intermediaries,
in support of its price stability
goal, the CBI’s Bank Supervision
Department (BSD) has the
responsibility of ensuring the
stability of the financial system
through the regulation and supervision
of commercial banks.
As part of the USAID-funded
Economic Governance II Project
to help in the economic reconstruction
and policy reform in
Iraq, technical assistance is
being provided to strengthen
the BSD’s regulatory role and
responsibilities.
USAID launches Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) alliance at “Rebuild Iraq 2006”
According to participants, one of the most successful
events of the 2006 “Rebuild Iraq” Conference and Exhibition, held from May
8-11, was USAID’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Alliance
Conference held at the Intercontinental Hotel on May 8. “Rebuild Iraq”
saw some 1,000 companies from over 50 countries participate in the third
annual event aimed at fostering business relationships and promoting economic
development in Iraq.
USAID course teaches safe use of pesticides in rural farming communities
The Agriculture Reconstruction
and Development Program for
Iraq (ARDI) works throughout
Iraq to assist farmers through
programs that varies from seed
cleaning to awareness campaigns.
In this particular
course farmers are reminded of
the benefits of safe use of pesticides.
The course emphasizes
the importance of wearing
proper attire, not over-using,
and keeping pesticides away
from family dwellings.
Steering Committee and Director General approve
functional reorganization of tax commission
As part of the USAID-Funded
Economic Governance II Project
to help in the economic reconstruction
and policy reform in
Iraq, technical assistance is
being provided to assist capacity
building and institutional
strengthening in creating a
stronger revenue collecting authority
for Iraq through the
General Commission for Taxes
(GCT). With USAID’s support,
officials from the GCT are reforming
tax laws and forms,
implementing a functional reorganization
process and integrating
a new IT Application
(TAGDEER) to automate the tax
collection and reporting process
for the Tax Commission.
New microfinance institution provides credit to small
businesses in Kirkuk
A few months ago, a terrorist incident in Kirkuk destroyed most of the stock of
a local pharmacy, leaving a family-owned business in tatters and depriving
the community of much needed medication. The pharmacy and the services
it provides to the community will soon be fully restored: in mid-July the family
took out a loan - the equivalent of $3,000 in Iraqi dinars – to replenish the
stock and rebuild the business.
As small as it may look, the amount means a lot. The loan was the first made
by Al-Aman, a new, indigenous microfinance organization established
through a successful partnership between the USAID-funded Izdihar project,
the U.S. military (MNC-I C9) and the Provisional Reconstruction Team (PRT)
of Kirkuk.
Cultural center promotes equality
Since opening its doors on March 14, 2005, the Khabat Cultural Center has
not only provided much-needed training opportunities to hundreds of community
members, but also become an important venue to conduct community
business. The ACDI/VOCA coordinator in Khabat explains the importance
of the center to a community like this: "…the biggest thing is building
trust between us and the community. They come to us daily to learn."
Provincial councils iron out funding mechanism
USAID’s LGP II program aims
to support the government of
Iraq at every level. At this
particular event, through a
program called the Accelerated
Reconstruction and Regional
Development Fund, federal
funds will be allocated to provinces
on a per capita bases to
provide much needed money
for both reconstruction and
rehabilitation as well as new
projects throughout Iraq’s 18
provinces.
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