USAID Iraq: Fact sheet no. 65, 24 September 2003

UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION AND HUMANITARIAN RELIEF September 23, 2003 Fact Sheet #65, Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 USAID Iraq On July 27 USAID Mission Director Lewis Lucke officially announced the formation of USAID’s Mission to Iraq at the USAID office in Baghdad. Currently, the USAID Mission is working closely with the people of Iraq, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), the United Nations, NGOs and private sector partners involved with relief and reconstruction efforts. United States Government offices, including USAID’s Asia and Near-East Bureau, Office for Transition Initiatives (OTI), Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), Food for Peace (FFP), the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of State support the USAID Mission in Iraq which assists programs in education, food security, infrastructure, local governance, health, water, and sanitation. Program Descriptions and Updates Airports USAID’s objectives for the rehabilitation of airports include providing reconstruction material and personnel for the timely repair of damaged airport facilities, the rehabilitation of airport terminals, the creation of systems to permit international commercial and passenger flights, humanitarian assistance, and reconstruction material and personnel, and preparation for the eventual handover of airport operations to the Iraqi Airport Commission Authority. Activities: • Completed significant infrastructure work at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) for civil air operations. • At Baghdad’s C terminal, 1,500 fluorescent tubes have been installed and sewage pump number two has been repaired. • Basrah International Airport is nearly ready for commercial operations to begin. Projects have included installing two baggage x-ray units, toilets, passenger lounges, signs, baggage carts, and satellite communications. • Complete evaluation of reconstruction needs at Mosul Airport completed. Bridges, Roads, and Railroads USAID’s objectives in bridges, roads, and railroads include the rehabilitation and repair of damaged transportation systems focusing on the most economically critical networks. Activities: • Completed construction of a 1.5-kilometer, four-lane bypass for the damaged Al-Mat Bridge – a key bridge used for humanitarian efforts. 1 • Completed 36 detailed bridge assessments. • Work on Khazir and Tikrit bridges begins this week, and a subcontractor is refurbishing a concrete fabrication facility to provide slabs for the bridges. • Bechtel completed an evaluation of the Iraqi railroad system on June 25 and has begun preparing its railway execution plan. Community Action Program USAID’s goals with the Community Action Program include the promotion of diverse and representative citizen participation in and among communities throughout Iraq to assist in the identification, prioritization, and delivery of critical reconstruction and development needs. Activities: • Five U.S. NGOs established offices in nine major Iraqi cities located throughout the country. • After three and a half months of implementation, the five Community Action Program (CAP) partners have identified 524 community activities that will benefit nearly seven million people at a total cost of $17.7 million. • Cooperative Housing Foundation has organized 74 community associations to direct activities, the majority of which are focusing on repairing roads and sewage treatment plants, cleaning up neighborhoods, renovating schools, and improving water, sanitation, and medical facilities. Education USAID’s objectives in education for Iraq include increasing enrollment and improving the quality of primary and secondary education, ensuring that classrooms have sufficient materials for the start of the new school year in October, facilitating community involvement, training teachers, implementing accelerated learning programs, and establishing partnerships between U.S. and Iraqi colleges and universities. Activities: • More than 35,000 Iraqis from 64 Iraqi subcontractors are working on an accelerated program to rehabilitate over 1,000 schools by October 1; 451 have been completed in the past two weeks. • In Baghdad, work on 600 schools is underway with 228 schools completed. • The Ministry of Education, coordinated with USAID’s RISE program, has begun training 60 master trainers for a major teacher orientation initiative. The 60 will instruct 720 teacher trainers and the teacher trainers will hold orientations that will train thousands of Iraqi teachers. Economic Governance USAID’s objectives for economic governance currently include 15 priority areas approved by the CPA that are in various stages of initial implementation. Objectives address currency conversion and monetary data , state-owned enterprises, small businesses credits, commercial legislation, a national employment program, a bank-to-bank payment system, a financial management information system, tax policy and administration, budget planning, insurance, and electricity reform. Activities: • Developed the overall management plan for the currency exchange operation, including security and logistics requirements. • Began developing a bank-to-bank payment system that will allow 10 banks to begin conducting business by mid-September and 80 banks by mid-October. 2 Electricity USAID’s objectives for the rehabilitation of electricity include the emergency repair or rehabilitation of power generation facilities and electrical grids. The goal is to restore Iraqi power generation to 4,400 MW a day by October 2003 and provide reliable power to at least 75 percent of Iraqis by 2004. Activities: • Power production reached 3,771 MW on September 22 – the second highest level since before the war and up from 3,254 MW on September 18. Output is now approaching three-quarters of total capacity. • Hydropower production peaked at 905 MW on September 23, 2003, exceeding the target of 902 MW. • Work is proceeding on cable splicing at Hartha boilers #1 and #4. Crews are making preparations to begin welding inside the boiler. Food Security USAID’s objectives in food security include providing oversight support for the country-wide “Public Distribution System” (PDS) which provides basic food and non-food commodities to approximately 26 million people participating in the design of a cash-based assistance program to replace the commodity-based PDS in order to support local production and free-market infrastructure, and promoting comprehensive agriculture reform to optimize private participation in production and wholesale markets. Activities: • Technical assistance to CPA authorities in Erbil and Baghdad during Oil for Food transition. • Ongoing funding to the UN/World Food Program which has managed the PDS since May, and is currently working with its Iraqi counterparts in the Ministry of Trade to ensure the smooth transition of PDS management over to the Ministry. • Renovation/refurbishment of governorate warehouses and PDS management centers (e.g. Basra, Wasit, Thi Qar). Health USAID’s objectives for health in Iraq include supporting a reformed Iraqi Ministry of Health; delivering essential health services; funding medicines and micronutrients; establishing a rapid referral and response system for the most serious cases; providing medical equipment and supplies; training and recruiting health staff; providing health education and information; and determining the specific needs of the health sector and of vulnerable populations such as women and children. Activities: • The Ministry of Health is distributing kits of office and medical equipment, which will be complimented y medical training, to 600 primary health centers in seven governorates. • Clinic workers disseminated health and hygiene information to 400 families at rural clinics in Babil Governorate and to 119 families in rural clinics at At’ Tamim Governorate. • The Ministry of Health conducted a vaccination day on September 22, inoculating small children against a variety of preventable diseases. • Dhi Qar and Al Muthanna’ Departments of Health have taken over the USAID supported monitoring and supervision of their Targeted Nutrition Programs. Local Government USAID’s objectives in local government include the promotion of diverse and representative citizen participation within and among communities throughout Iraq. Activities focus on strengthening the management skills and capacity of local administrations, local interim representative bodies, and civic institutions to improve the delivery of essential municipal services such as water, health, public sanitation and 3 economic development, and conducting training programs in communications, conflict resolution and leadership skills. Activities: • Awarded over 829 rapid response grants, totaling $40.3 million. • Rehabilitated and reequipped 16 key Iraqi ministries, including Ministries of Justice, Irrigation, Foreign Affairs, Labor, Health and Finance, and the headquarters of eight municipalities. • Work has begun on phase one of the rehabilitation of At’ Tamim Governorate building in Kirkuk. The building will be used as the site of the local government and municipal council. • Mosul’s NGOs held their first civil society coordination meeting last week to plan for a conference on Iraqi human rights. The Legal Association for Human Rights, Women’s Educational and Cultural Society, the Human Rights Research Center, and the International Committee of European Security and Cooperation attended. Seaport USAID’s objectives for the rehabilitation of ports includes initially assessing the Umm Qasr port, developing improvement plans to overcome port-imposed constraints, hiring of port pilots to guide ships up the channel, coordinating onward transport from the seaport, and facilitating cargo-handling services such as warehousing, shipment tracking, and storage. Activities: • Port reopened to commercial traffic June 17; first test of passenger vessel completed July 16. • Major dredging activities are now complete and the port is able to handle deep-draft ships at all 21 berths. • The completed grain facility, which can process up to 600 tons of grain per hour or a 25,000 MT ship in two days, will be tested this week at full capacity for 24 continuous hours. Telecommunications USAID’s objectives for telecommunications in Iraq include linking 21 cities by fiber optic cable and preparing one million wired lines to be operational; repairing the nation’s fiber optic network from north of Mosul, through Baghdad and Nasiriyah to Umm Qasr by November 2003; and repairing of the 2,000 km cable to connect 20 cities to Baghdad and benefit 70 percent of Iraq’s population. Activities: • The Iraqi Telephone and Postal Company (ITPC) has begun site preparation for the telephone switches. ITPC employees are constructing foundations, splicing cables, and testing lines prior to the arrival of the Lucent switches. • Audited the 400 km of the northeastern fiber backbone through to Mosul, confirming that two of twelve fibers are active. A second survey through to Dahuk is planned for September. The assessment of the northeastern branch (Baghdad to Mosul via Kirkuk) of Iraq’s fiber optic backbone is complete. • A satellite gateway system was delivered to Al Mamoun last week, and technical staff will arrive in October for assembly and testing. Water and Sanitation USAID’s objectives in water and sanitation include rehabilitating and repairing essential water infrastructure to provide potable water and sanitation to communities and improve irrigation. Activities: 4 • Physical renovations have begun on Al Hillah and Ad Diwaniyah sewage treatment plants and work on An Najaf and Karbala’ treatment plants will begin soon. • Seventy of Baghdad’s ninety sewage treatment plants have been rehabilitated. • Dredging of the Sweet Water Canal is underway in Basrah governorate. The 90-day effort will remove 300,000 cubic meters of sediment, providing potable water to the region and improving water flow. • Generators are being installed at Baghdad’s 37 water facilities to ensure continuous flow. • Rehabilitation of two compact water treatment plants in Al Heweten and Al Kezweni was completed last week in An Najaf governorate and 32 small water treatment plants have been rehabilitated. 5 Agency Implementing Partner Sector Regions Amount FY 2003 EMERGENCY RELIEF USAID/OFDA ........................................................................................................................................... $74,924,316 Administrative Administrative Costs Countrywide $5,064,167 AirServ Logistics Countrywide $2,151,585 ARC Capacity building, Disaster support Al Basrah $537,746 The Cuny Center Research studies Countrywide $40,260 GOAL Coordination, Nutrition Al Muthanna’ $1,507,900 International Dispensary Association Health Countrywide $1,283,772 InterAction Coordination Kuwait City $92,860 IOM IDP programs Countrywide $5,000,000 IMC Capacity building Countrywide $202,900 Logistics Commodities and DART support Countrywide $10,966,351 SCF/US NGO Consortium Countrywide $883,131 UNICEF Health, nutrition, water/sanitation Countrywide $4,000,000 UN OCHA Coordination and Information Countrywide $1,200,000 WFP Logistics and pre-positioning of food Countrywide $5,000,000 Cooperative Agreements IMC Quick-impact projects: Food Security, Health, Nutrition, Water/Sanitation Countrywide $8,000,000 Health Al Basrah, Maysan, Wasit, Kirkuk, At’ Tamin Health, Water/Sanitation An Nasiriyah IRC Quick-impact projects: Health, Water/Sanitation Countrywide $4,998,685 Water/Sanitation Kirkuk, Karbala’, Najaf Mercy Corps Quick-impact projects: Health, Non- Food Items, Shelter, Water/Sanitation Countrywide $5,000,000 Water/Sanitation Kirkuk Water/Sanitation Diyala’, Al Kut, Khanaqin Water/Sanitation Wasit Water/Sanitation Al Basrah SCF/US Quick-impact projects: Food Security, Health, Shelter, Nutrition, Non-Food Items, Water/Sanitation Countrywide $6,000,000 Nutrition Mosul Health, Transportation Mosul Water/Sanitation Al Basrah Health Mosul Health Baghdad Nutrition Baghdad Water/Sanitation, Health Al Basrah IDP Support Al Basrah 6 World Vision Quick-impact projects: Health, Logistics, Non-Food Items Countrywide $4,994,959 Water/Sanitation Al Anbar Hospital Rehabilitation Al Anbar Water/Sanitation Mosul CARE Quick-impact projects Countrywide $8,000,000 Water System Rehabilitation Al Anbar Blankets, Hygiene Kits Baghdad USAID/FFP .............................................................................................................................................. $431,800,000 WFP Operations Countrywide $45,000,000 WFP Emerson Trust – 81,500 MT Countrywide $39,400,000 WFP P.L. 480 Title II emergency food commodities – 163,820 MT Countrywide $147,400,000 WFP Regional Purchase – 330,000 MT Countrywide $200,000,000 STATE/PRM.............................................................................................................................................. $38,935,691 UNHCR Emergency assistance Countrywide $21,000,000 ICRC Emergency assistance Countrywide $10,000,000 IFRC Emergency assistance Countrywide $3,000,000 IOM TCN – transportation assistance Countrywide $3,630,000 International Catholic Migration Commission Humanitarian assistance to Iraqi refugees Lebanon and Jordan $1,305,691 RECONSTRUCTION USAID/ANE ......................................................................................................................................... $1,024,564,000 Abt Associates Health Countrywide $20,995,000 AFCAP Logistics Countrywide $91,500,000 Army Corps of Engineers Architecture and Engineering services Countrywide $10,000,000 BearingPoint Economic Governance Countrywide $9,000,000 Bechtel Airports, buildings, emergency communications, power, railroads, roads and bridges, Umm Qasr seaport, water and sanitation Countrywide $680,000,000 Community Action Program Development in impoverished communities Countrywide $35,000,000 DAI Marshlands Countrywide $4,000,000 IRG Reconstruction Support Countrywide $18,286,000 RTI Local Governance Countrywide $44,611,000 CAII Education Countrywide $37,853,000 UNICEF Health, Water, and Sanitation Countrywide $28,000,000 UNICEF Education Countrywide $7,000,000 UNESCO Textbook Printing and Distribution: Math and Science Countrywide $10,000,000 WHO Strengthen Health System Countrywide $10,000,000 SSA Port Management Umm Qasr $4,819,000 SkyLink Airport Management Baghdad Al Basrah Mosul $8,000,000 7 MSI Monitoring and Evaluation Countrywide $5,500,000 USAID/OTI................................................................................................................................................ $56,664,190 Administrative Administrative Costs Countrywide $1,289,378 IOM Iraq Transition Initiative Countrywide $10,587,595 DAI Iraq Transition Initiative Countrywide $35,523,857 Internews Media Countrywide $160,359 Radio SAWA Media Countrywide $400,000 Spa War Inter-Ministry Communications Countrywide $8,703,001 TOTAL USAID ASSISTANCE TO IRAQ IN FY 2003.................................................................... $1,587,952,506 TOTAL STATE ASSISTANCE TO IRAQ IN FY 2003 ........................................................................ $38,935,691 Total STATE/USAID Assistance to Iraq in FY 2003 ........................................................................ $1,626,888,197 *Figures in funding sheet are subject to change and do not represent a final official accounting of USG obligations. 8