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Iraq Reconstruction Accomplishments:
A Brief Overview
Working in close cooperation with the Iraq interim government to improve the lives of Iraqis, USAID is devoting substantial resources throughout the country to restore critical infrastructure, support the delivery of healthcare and education services, expand economic opportunities, and improve governance.
1. Restoring Essential Infrastructure
Objective - Rebuild and rehabilitate the vital components of Iraq's infrastructure
Program Areas
- Power/Water and Sanitation/Transportation
- Airports/Umm Qasr Seaport
- Irrigation Systems
- Telecommunications Facilities
- Schools, Health Facilities, and Select Government Buildings
Key Accomplishments
An Iraqi student inside a classroom in Baghdad.
Photo by Bechtel National |
- Generated 4,518 MW on October 6, surpassing the pre-war level of 4,400 MW.
- USAID is working to add 827 MW of capacity through new generation and rehabilitation projects.
- Conducting water and sanitation projects worth $183 million that will benefit 14.5 million people.
- Rehabilitating three key bridges (Khazir, Tikrit, and Al Mat) critical to the flow of passengers and goods throughout Iraq. Al Mat Bridge was the first to be completed and reopened March 3.
- Reopened Umm Qasr seaport on June 17. Approximately 40 ships offload cargo per month.
- Completed emergency work to prepare Baghdad and Basrah airports for operations. More than 5,000 flights have arrived and departed Baghdad International Airport since July, which now averages more than 20 non-military movements per day.
- Restored international calling service and activated more than 140,000 subscriber lines in Baghdad.
2. Supporting Essential Health and Education Services
Objectives - Ensure basic health care needs of population are met; improve access to and quality of education.
Program Areas- Emergency Health care/Health Care Education
- Strengthening Iraq's Health Care System
- School Renovation/Teacher Training
- Accelerated Learning Program
- School supplies to Iraq's Children
- US/Iraqi University Partnerships
Key Accomplishments
- Vaccinated 3 million children through monthly national immunization days.
- Equipping 600 facilities in seven target governorates to provide essential primary healthcare services.
- Trained 750 people who are training more than 2,000 primary healthcare providers in maternal and child health services.
- Distributed high-protein biscuits to more than 240,000 children and pregnant and nursing mothers.
- Renovated 2,356 schools nationwide.
- Distributed 1.5 million secondary school student kits, 808,000 primary school student kits, and 81,735 primary school teacher kits.
- Printed and distributed 8.7 million revised math and science textbooks to governorates throughout Iraq.
- Trained 860 secondary school master trainers, who trained 31,772 secondary school educators nationwide.
- Awarded five grants worth $20.7 million to establish partnerships between American and Iraqi universities.
- Giving more than 600 out-of-school students a second chance through the Accelerated Learning Program.
3. Expanding Economic Opportunity
Objectives - Rejuvenate the Iraqi economy and rebuild Iraq's agricultural sector.
Program Areas
- Microenterprise/Tax and Regulatory Structure
- Agriculture and Irrigation Rehabilitation
- Private Sector Development/Agribusiness
- Currency Exchange and Auction
Key Accomplishments
- Implementing 17 high-priority activities with the CPA to reform Iraq's currency, state-owned enterprises, small businesses, banking system, taxation system, budgeting, and utility administration.
- Began facilitating the Central Bank program to exchange new dinars for old on October 15, 2003, and completed the program January 15, 2004. There are currently 4.62 trillion new Iraqi dinars in circulation.
- Created more than 77,000 public works jobs through the National Employment Program.
- Developed a bank-to-bank payment system that allowed 80 banks to resume business by late October.
- Supporting the Iraqi initiative to revitalize agricultural production, stimulate income, and employment generation through the Agriculture Reconstruction and Development Program for Iraq.
- Coordinating the Marshlands Initiative to rejuvenate the marshlands ecologically, socially, and economically.
4. Improving Government Efficiency and Accountability
Objectives - Enhance local government administrations and interim representative bodies; promoting community development in cooperation with the NGO community.
Program Areas
- Improvements to Service Delivery
- Rapid Response Grants
- Local Governance Administration
- NGO Community Development Programs
- Increasing Citizen Participation
- Interim Representative Structures
Key Accomplishments
- Local governance teams are working in all 18 governorates as part of CPA Governance Teams.
- Facilitated an interim structure of government, the Governorate Council, to represent the population of 18 governorates, including Baghdad.
- Established 16 governorate councils, 78 district councils, 192 city or sub-district councils, and 392 neighborhood councils, allowing more than 19 million people to engage in local policy discourse.
- Committed $2.4 million for the implementation of the CPA's nationwide Civic Education Program to introduce Iraqis to democratic principles and ideas in preparation for the upcoming transition to sovereignty.
- Awarded rapid-response grants worth $13.4 million to allow local governments to deliver essential services.
- Rehabilitated nine key central government ministries, Baghdad mayoral buildings, headquarters of nine Baghdad municipalities, and urban water and electric authorities, while providing 40 directorates and agencies with enough furniture, equipment, and basic office supplies to enable them to return to service.
- Assisting local governments in budget formulation.
- Established more than 660 community associations in 16 governorates as part of a campaign targeting grassroots democracy.
5. Humanitarian Assistance
Objectives - Anticipate and respond to emergency humanitarian needs.
Key Accomplishments
- Immediately after the conflict, provided 516,800 metric tons of food worth over $389 million through the World Food Program.
- Deployed one of the largest ever Disaster Assistance Response Teams, including doctors, public health professionals, water and sanitation experts, food distribution and agricultural specialists, and other experts.
- Pre-positioned substantial amounts of food and supplies before the war: water, hygiene and health kits, blankets, and plastic sheeting.
- Awarded grants to staff and prepare U.N. agencies and NGOs for response.
- Repaired water and sanitation facilities quickly and furnished emergency healthcare assistance.
- Distributed medical kits containing enough medicine and supplies for 10,000 people for three months.
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