IRAQ LAUNCHES AND FOR THE FIRST TIME A STRATGY FOR

POVERTY REDUCTION

In light of  the approval of the esteemed  Council of Ministers in its decision No. 409 of 2009, taken at its forty-second ordinary session held on 24/11/2009 under the presidency of His Excellency Prime Minister  Nouri Al-Maliki, the High Committee for Poverty Reduction Policies in the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation, which includes in its membership a number of members of Parliament, Ministries' Undersecretaries, consultants and  directors-general from the Federal Government and the Government of Kurdistan Region, has pleasure to announce the launching of the National Strategy for Poverty Reduction in Iraq for the years 2010-2014.

The Strategy's envisaged perspective is to attain the general goal of reducing poverty from its current rate of 23% to 16% by 2014 through achieving six basic outcomes, viz.:

-          Higher income for the poor from work

-          Improvement of health status of the poor

-          Dissemination and upgrading of education of the poor

-          A better living environment for the poor

-          Effective social protection for the poor

-          Less inequality between poor women and men

The Strategy comprises 27 outputs which constitute a set of short-term results that need to be implemented to achieve the above-mentioned outcomes.  The Strategy also contained a detailed discussion of the assumptions that constitute circumstances beyond the control of those engaged in the implementation and which should be taken into consideration in order to overcome possible constraints to the implementation of the Strategy.

The Strategy included also details of activities that should be implemented during the Strategy's years 2010-2014, which are 87 in number.  The strategy also set an implementation, monitoring and evaluation mechanism that would ensure a proper and highly efficient progress of implementation.

For this purpose, the Strategy drew up a detailed plan to link the Strategy with the National Five-year Plan.  Based on the assumption that the Strategy's implementation proceeds forward, the following expected results have been set over the implementation years:

• Reduction of the poverty rate at national level by 30% that is, reducing the number of the poor from 7 to 5 million.
•  Reduction of the illiteracy rate by half, (from the current rate of 28% to 14%) through the following:

-          Achieving a higher net enrollment rate in primary education, (from the current rate of 75% to 98%).

-          Achieving a higher net enrollment rate in intermediate education, (from current rate of 21% to 50%).

·               Reduction of the number of individuals covered by the food ration to cover those who are below the poverty line by 2014.

·                Bridging the gap between the two genders through:

§   Achieving higher rates of poor women's participation in economic

§   activities (Currently 13% to become 19%).

§   Achieving higher girls-to-boys ratio in:

v     Literacy (Currently 81%, to become 92%)

v     Enrollment in primary education (Currently 87% to become 100% ).

v     Enrollment in intermediate education (Currently 72% to become 86% )

v     Enrollment in secondary education (Currently 69% to become 85%)

The Strategy's document also made the following recommendations which the Government is required to implement:

1. Approval of the Strategy for the Reduction of Poverty in Iraq through implementation of the activities contained in the outputs and outcomes in coordination with the National Five-year Plan (2010-2014).
2. Commit the ministries and appropriate authorities to implement the Strategy's activities up to the attainment of the main goal, that is, reduction of poverty in Iraq.
3. Set up a permanent institutional mechanism to ensure rational management in implementing, follow-up and evaluation of the Strategy's activities and programs through:

v     Formation of a High Steering Committee comprising Their Excellencies the Ministers of Finance, Planning, Health, Education, Labor and Social Affairs, Reconstruction and Housing, Agriculture, Trade, Human Rights, and Women's Affairs to be chaired by one of the Prime Minister's Deputies and for which a  Secretary, in the position of  a Director-General,  is to be designated.

v     Formation of a standing High Committee for Poverty Reduction Policies comprising a number of members  of the House of Representatives  and representatives of the above-mentioned organs as well as representatives of civil society organizations and the private sector.  It will have a permanent Secretariat, to undertake the High Committee's directives to manage poverty reduction policies.

4. The Strategy represents an extensive national effort which requires implementation of some of its activities within special projects to which donors and regional and international organizations contribute support.  Among these projects are:
   • Project for the development of targeting and integration of the food ration and social safety net systems.
   • Project for the development of rural conglomerations which includes activities serving income, education, health and infrastructure outcomes in rural areas.
   • Project for the management of a labor market for the poor.
   • Completing the Strategy's detailed elements, including details of   monitoring and evaluation indicators and their means of implementation.
5. Monitoring and evaluation of the Strategy and keeping abreast with developments.  This requires conducting   household and statistical surveys and studies serving this aspect, in addition to improving databases relevant to the Strategy in the appropriate ministries.
6. To sustain poverty reduction efforts the subsequent strategy must be prepared, approved and ready for implementation by the termination of this Strategy, which requires initiation of the next strategy early in 2013.

His Excellency the Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki expressed his thanks and appreciation to the members of the High Committee for the Poverty Reduction Policies in Iraq for their distinguished and tremendous efforts in the preparation of the Strategy with the technical support of the World Bank. 

His Excellency the Speaker of Parliament Dr. Ayad Al-Samerrai, and his two deputies, Dr. Khalid Al-Atiya and Mr. Arif Tayfour, lauded the document that materializes the form of joint cooperation between the executive and legislative powers in addressing issues of concern to the people. Likewise, their Excellencies the Ministers commended the document and confirmed that it is the first national document addressing the multi-dimensional aspects of poverty by a scientific and objective methodology. 

The High Committee for Poverty Reduction Policies presents this document to support the poor in Iraq and formulate procedures for the alleviation of poverty.  It extends its thanks to all the entities that cooperated towards attaining this achievement.    It refers, in particular, to the distinguished efforts of the World Bank which offered technical support throughout the   stages of the poverty reduction policies in Iraq.  Thanks are also due to the efforts of the main and sub- committees that played excellent roles in the performance of their work, particularly, the Food Ration Reform Committee chaired by His Excellency the Secretary-General of the Council of Minister, Mr. Ali Muhsin Ismail

Dr. Mahdi Muhsin Al- Alak

Head of the High Committee for

Poverty Reduction Policies in Iraq

14/1/2010