Iraq

Since the fall of the Hussein regime in Iraq in March 2003, Coalition forces and the Iraqi government have been working to restore damaged infrastructure and basic services while engaging the population in civil government. IRD specifically is currently implementing four programs in Iraq.

The USAID-funded Iraq Community Action Program (ICAP) assists community action groups, or CAGs, to articulate needs and mobilize resources to solve problems, local government to better meet these needs, and civilian victims of conflict. By involving Iraqi citizens in determining their own priorities as well as empowering them to communicate those priorities and mobilize the resources to address them, ICAP is modeling innovative approaches to decentralized democracy and governance in Iraq.

The Community Stabilization Program (CSP) in Iraq is a 28-month program designed to focus local energies toward productive economic and social opportunities and away from insurgency activities. It is a new initiative to jump start economic development and create jobs in specific areas. The primary objectives of CSP are to:
- Create jobs and develop employable skills with a focus on unemployed youth;
- Revitalize community infrastructure and essential services;
- Support established businesses and develop new sustainable businesses; and
- Help mitigate conflict in selected communities.

In Northern Iraq, IRD implements the Humanitarian Assistance Intervention (HAI) program, also funded by USAID. HAI program works to resettle refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), and provides these and other vulnerable populations with emergency health, food, and relief supplies.

As part of the implementation of HAI, IRD also provides the following: emergency relief commodities to affected communities, potable water and sanitation facilities, primary health care services, income generation opportunities, return facilitation, and training and capacity building.

And with funding from the U.S. State Department, IRD is supporting reconciliation and conflict mitigation efforts, helping build national unity, and strengthening the foundation of development initiatives by improving the mental health of Iraqis across geographic and sectarian boundaries. The $3 million Iraqi Mental Health Program will work with trauma and other conflict-affected victims, including female self-immolation victims, drug users, children, internally displaced people in six Iraqi governorates.

Programs

Community Stabilization Program in Iraq

The Community Stabilization Program (CSP) helped stabilize and economically revital... more

Cultural Bridges to Reconciliation in Iraq

Iraq’s process of rebuilding internally and creating a strong democracy begins with... more

Iraq Community Action Program

The Iraq Community Action Program (ICAP) aims to foster democratic principles of go... more

Iraq Cultural Heritage Program

In the immediate aftermath of the removal of Sadaam Hussein’s government in 2003, t... more

Iraq Mothers and Daughters Empowerment Program

Many rural women in Iraq live in extreme poverty. Only 37 percent of rural women ca... more

Rebuilding the Iraqi Electrical Grid

Even before the recent conflict, Iraq’s national electrical network was only able t... more

Success Stories

Citizen Participation Tops Local Government Agenda as Web 2.0 Comes to Baghdad

The USAID Iraq Community Action Program (ICAP) has concluded the second of two week... more

Civil Society Coalition Calls Attention to Child Labor in Iraq

Baghdad, Iraq – A community action group from the Al-Jadeeda neighborhood of Iraq's... more

Communicating with One Voice

As the Iraq Community Action Program (ICAP) draws to a close in 2012, its steady fo... more

Community Action Group Empowers the Blind

An issue-focused community action group, or iCAG, distributed MP3 players preloaded... more

Crumbling Walls of Ignorance and Mistrust in Iraq

As the car nears the checkpoint, the roads are muddier and more potholed, and armed... more

Giving a Gift of Wheelchairs Worldwide

For those of us who are able to move around easily, it is difficult to imagine w... more

Hazem Finds a New Life in Jordan

We all start our careers hoping for the best, live our lives as best we can... more

Improving Water Services in Baghdad

ISTIQLAL, Baghdad – It was challenging enough to provide potable water to all 15,00... more

Inspiring Community Participation in Baghdad

9 NISSAN, Baghdad – Word quickly got around in this hardscrabble Baghdad neighborho... more

Revitalized Kindergarten Highlights Work of Community Action Group

A'ATIFIYA, Baghdad – With a grant from the Iraq Community Action Program (ICAP), a... more

Syrian Refugees Receive Winter Clothing, Shoes, Sleeping Bags

The Outreach Services for Syrian Refugees (OSIR) program, currently in its fifth ye... more

Vocational Training for Internally Displaced Iraqi Women

Baghdad, Iraq – An ambitious vocational training program targeting Baghdad’s intern... more

Vocational Training Program Yields Early Results for Baghdad’s Displaced

With the preponderance of Iraq’s internally displaced persons (IDPs) living within... more