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Activities in Iraq

Guiding Principles for JICA's Reconstruction Assistance for Iraq

Support the Iraq National Development Strategy and the Assistance of the Government of Japan for Iraq

JICA pays special attention to the Iraq National Development Strategy which was publicized at the Third Donor Committee Meeting & Expanded Meeting of International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (Tokyo Meeting) in October 2004. This plan was approved by the Iraq Strategic Review Board (ISRB) and regarded as the national reconstruction and reform program for the coming three years.

The Japanese Government announced that it would focus its efforts on the reconstruction of citizens’ lives by revitalizing electricity, education, water & sanitation, health and job creation, and on improving security situation for short term. For mid to long term, it would focus on other infrastructure such as telecommunication and transportation.

JICA conducted various studies to formulate substantial rehabilitation and reconstruction projects and is facilitating implementation of those projects.

Focusing Assistance On Governance Sector, Infrastructure Sector For Upgrading Citizens' Life And Promoting Economic Recovery Through Capacity Development Programs,

JICA, in close collaboration with the Government of Japan for Iraq, concentrates its efforts on the following sectors:

i) Governance

The Iraqi Government is transforming into a decentralized and market oriented governing system from a centralized authoritarian governing system. It is quite important to establish a solid social-economic infrastructure and develop a democratic institutional system in order to enhance democracy and good governance. Particular attention shall be paid to:

  1. Building a democratic institutional system:
    Enforcement of the rule of law to secure fundamental human rights and political rights
  2. Good governance:
    Optimizing power balance between the national authority and civil society, improving capacity of government, a fair coordination mechanism for stakeholders, and improving capacity of civil society including media
  3. Building socio-economic infrastructure to sustain democracy:
    Satisfy basic human needs, stabilize economy, and building peace.
Democratization and good governance are “the system and capacity necessary for both government and citizens in order to sustain outcomes of development.” JICA must design assistance programs carefully so that it can attain the utmost synergetic effect.

II) Constructing Infrastructure and institutional systems for upgrading citizens' lives:

During the last two decades, the Iraqi people have suffered from repeated conflicts and embargos. Infrastructures and living standards of the Iraqi people have deteriorated significantly.

JICA will support the construction of the infrastructure and institutional system which would contribute to upgrading citizens' lives through studies and capacity development programs. The following sectors are priorities:

  1. Health:

    Iraq was proud of its high standard of medical services in the region till the end of eighties, but is now downgraded due to a lack of proper operation of maintenance and technology isolation.

    Cancer, respiratory diseases, cardiac infarction, diabetes and tuberculosis are regarded to be urgent issues to tackle, since those are the major causes of deaths of the Iraqi people over five years old. Major death causes for children less than five are diarrhea and respiratory diseases.

    Mortality rates in rural areas are 30%higher than that of urban areas. It is important to support a primary health care (PHC) system in rural areas, not only in urban areas. It is also important to increase the number of qualified pharmacists, as well as the rehabilitation of PHC facilities and equipment. Emergency medical service is also a priority issue.

  2. Water & Sanitaion:

    The water sector in Iraq needs urgent and intensive assistance in terms of facilities and human resources.

    Long lasting conflicts and successive economic sanctions caused the water supply and sewage systems in Iraq to be obsolete and dysfunctional.

    Compared to the situation before the Gulf War, per-capita water supply amount has declined by 30% in urban areas and by half in rural areas. In Baghdad, about 500,000 cubic meters of waste water is discharged directly into the Tigris river every day without due treatment. This is grossly affecting the health of the people around the region especially for children.

    Through close consultations and intensive dialogues, the following items have been identified as urgent tasks in the water and sanitation sector of Iraq. JICA will take those issues into serious consideration for formulating capacity development programs.

    • Lack of proper development policy and plan
    • Deterioration of staff skills and knowledge on updated technologies
    • Deterioration of functions of facilities due to improper operation and maintenance and aging
    • Lack of water quality control facility and equipment

    As for solid waste, collection systems are not properly functioning, and waste disposal sites are insufficient. It is strongly expected to formulate policies and set up management systems.

  3. Electricity:

    Power facilities in Iraq have been seriously deteriorated due to conflicts, lack of investments, maintenance, and looting after the last conflict. Though installed power capacity was 9,295 MW in 1990, about 70 percent of total capacity was damaged during the 1991 Gulf war. It recovered to 4,000 MW through the Oil for Food Program by the United Nations but it has dropped to 3,300 MW after the last conflict.

    Although reconstruction work by various donor agencies started soon after the conflict, available generating capacity is still hovering around the pre-war level because of sluggish reconstruction work and repeated sabotages due to serious security constraints on the ground.

    As a result, people in the whole country have to live with frequent load shedding throughout the day.

    Every effort has to be made for the recovery and development of the power sector in terms of physical and institutional aspects.

    JICA has organized various technical cooperation projects in this sector such as the Power Network System (SCADA), TIG Welding, Cable Jointing, Optical Fiber Splicing, Operation & Maintenance on Thermal Power Plant, and Training Center Management in close consultation with MOE.

    Several urgent topics have been identified through relevant surveys and discussions. Those topics include:

    • Review on present institutional systems
    • Examination of appropriate tariff and billing system
    • Review on present technical and safety code
    • Upgrading power facilities
    • Upgrading and updating technical skills of engineers

    The power sector, as well as other public sectors, was planned and controlled by the central government under the previous regime. Tariffs were set at quite a low rate and most of the investments were funded from by the central government budget, not from MOE revenue.

    The National Development Strategy, which was made public at the donor conference meeting in Tokyo in October 2004, clearly stipulates that the government should concentrate on policy and regulation, while public services should be enhanced through private sector participation.

    The state run power sector needs to review the current institutional systems, such as laws, regulations, and tariff systems and prepare for expected sector reforms. Also, it needs to develop a better administration system and update the basic technical skills of its staff in order to improve efficiency.

iii) Economic Development:

Economic Development is one of the major focuses in JICA's Iraq reconstruction assistance. Sound economic development gives hopes and confidences to the people of Iraq who have been devastated by repeated wars, oppressions and long lasted struggles. JICA is supporting revitalizing economic infrastructure and institutional capacities through development master plans and capacity building programs.

  1. Industrial Infrastructure Development:

    Not only water and electricity entities, but also many manufacturing and construction companies, Iraq has numerous state owned companies in all sectors. Those once well functioned companies received little investments during the last decade and their obsolete facilities were severely looted after the war. Their productions are far below their designed capacities, and the inefficiencies prevent them from attaining sustainable growth and further investment.

    As it is stipulated in the National Development Strategy, the Iraqi government is aiming at a market oriented economy, under which most of the government owned companies will be required to strengthen their competitiveness and undergo restructuring. However, since those companies provide a lot of work for the public, it is necessary to establish social safety net systems in order to minimize social unrest.

    Through capacity development programs, JICA will support to enhance the institutional and technical capacities for public companies, banks and small and medium sized enterprises so that they can cope with this economic transitional period smoothly.

  2. Water Resources and Agriculture :

    Iraq is situated between the two big rivers, Tigris and Euphrates, and historically rich in water resources. Large scale dams and barrages have been constructed for irrigation since 1960s' in order to secure water for agriculture which accounts for about 90% of water consumption in Iraq.

    Agriculture was one of the major industries in Iraq and offered huge job opportunities in non-urban areas. Major agricultural products such as wheat, barley, date palm, cotton and various vegetables were produced in irrigated farming areas.

    However, similarly to other sectors, long lasting mismanagement and lack of investment caused severe deterioration in this sector.

    The urgent issues to be tacked are:

    • Declined functions of agricultural, irrigational facilities due to mismanagement and looting,
    • Lack of public facilities which support small sized farmers,
    • Lack of Quarantine control system,
    • Lack of Agriculture market system,
    • Mismanagement of water resources,
    • Soil salinity problem

    Agriculture and water resources are closely interacted with each other, and it is quite important to integrate countermeasures, such as establishing a proper operation and maintenance system on water resources, organizing water use cooperatives and rehabilitation of irrigation systems to address those issues effectively.

  3. Cultural Heritage:

    Countless and priceless cultural heritages are spread over Iraq, where many civilizations have prospered and perished for thousands of years.

    Unfortunately, the conditions of those cultural heritage sites have worsened due to the negligence of conservation and preservation. It requires immediate action.

    The cultural heritage of Iraq is not only the proud asset of Iraqi people, but also an invaluable treasure for human beings. It will be a symbol of a peaceful, united Iraq. Proper preservation and management would enhance the charm of the Iraqi culture and attract tourists from all over the world in the future.

    JICA supports cultural heritage preservation, conservation and management in Iraq through technical training programs.

Strategic Approach for Capacity Development Programs, & Ownership Enhancement

Under the current security situation in Iraq, it would be very difficult for donors to send large numbers of international experts to Iraq to carry out reconstruction projects.

JICA is conducting capacity development programs in a way to minimize the security risk and maximize effectiveness as much as possible.

JICA organizes various technical trainings and workshops with a view to enhancing the capacity of Iraqi officials who could take responsibility for reconstructing their own country.

They are learning state-of-the-art technical skills as well as Japanese aid systems and how to conduct master plans and feasibility studies for actual reconstruction work to be carried out.

In some programs, they are able to attain internationally accredited licenses and certificates at the end of the programs. Those certifications will enable them to be more involved in reconstruction works.

In other courses, they learn effective management skills in training centers where Iraqi trainers can train their staff on the ground efficiently.

Through those programs, JICA facilitates the Iraqi people's participation in the reconstruction processes and enhance their ownerships.

Preparation for the Full Scale Reconstruction Activities

Although JICA does not have a physical presence in Iraq due to the security constraints, it is quite important to prepare now the groundwork for future reconstruction activities. They may start immediately after the security situation becomes stable enough for donors to be in Iraq.

JICA is carrying out the following activities in order to collect data on social, economic and governance system in Iraq.

i) Strengthen relations with Iraqi governmental officials through capacity development programs and workshops,
ii) Reactivate relations with ex-participants of JICA training programs and establish alumni associations, and follow up on their activities,
iii) Conduct surveys on social and economic situations as well as continue dialogues with Iraqi counterparts on capacity development needs in various fields.

Paying Due Attention To JICA's Peace Building Guideline And Human Security

Although more than two years have passed since the end of the war, the security situation in Iraq is still very unstable. Donors' activities on the ground are strictly limited.

As the Government of Japan has strongly committed itself to support Iraq reconstruction and has pledged 5 billion USD, JICA is extending its capacity development programs as quickly as possible in an effective manner.

JICA has a lot of experiences in assisting post conflict countries such as Cambodia, East Timor, Afghanistan and so forth. The Peace Building Guideline of JICA sets basic principles for addressing peace building assistance.

They are: i) Addressing emergency and reconstruction assistance after the conflict, ii) Implementing quick projects with mid to long term perspectives (“seamless” assistance), iii) strengthening a preventive approach to avoid conflict, iv) Supporting recipient countries to tackle peace building tasks by their own capacities.

The Guideline emphasizes several issues such as reconciliation, governance, security, social infrastructure, economic recovery, socially vulnerable groups and humanitarian assistance will be intensively addressed.

The governance systems in post conflict countries are generally weak. Central governments often cannot provide basic services for citizens. JICA's supports are basically delivered on a governmental basis, but JICA makes sure that its support reaches citizens on the ground.

The other guiding principle for our assistance program for Iraq is Human Security. This puts an emphasis on a human-centered approach, empowerment of the recipient people, roles of communities and so on.

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