Baghdad, 21 September 2021 – A new Social Protection Programme was launched today by the Ministry of Planning, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Trade of Iraq, along with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the International Labour Organization (ILO), to reform the social protection system and the effectiveness of its response to ongoing socio-economic shocks. The European Union (EU) has contributed 30 million euro towards the new four-year Social Protection Programme, which aims to build a sustainable and more inclusive system for those in need. The Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and Ministry of Trade, lead work on the Poverty Reduction Strategy and the COVID-19 Response Plan as well as reforms at the programme implementation level, focusing on Social Safety Nets, the Public Distribution System for food rations (PDS) and Social Security. To support these efforts, UNICEF, ILO and WFP worked closely with the three Ministries to develop a Joint Programme to accelerate social protection reform. Under this programme, first and largest of its kind in Iraq, UNICEF, ILO, and WFP will support the Ministries over 2021-2025 to build Iraq’s strategy for social protection and implement a reform roadmap, roll-out and scale up child-focused and employment-related social protection schemes, and build up a unified national registry underpinned by the PDS. The Social Protection Programme also aims to develop a national strategy and roadmap to expand social security coverage to include informal workers, while supporting the most vulnerable workers in the informal economy and alleviating the effects of COVID-19. The programme hopes to achieve comprehensive, efficient, and effective social protection coverage of vulnerable groups and to offer pathways for vulnerable people for human development, economic inclusion, and enhanced resilience by 2025. The most vulnerable groups prioritized include children, youth, women, the elderly, people with disabilities, displaced persons and workers in the informal sector. Cash transfer programmes for children and pregnant women are also being developed, with linkages to key services. Underpinning all initiatives is the digitalisation of the PDS, which is enabling better citizen data systems and the establishment of a single registry for eligible people. “We are grateful for the support from the EU, UNICEF, WFP and ILO. Our Ministries are committed to these reforms, and we will work together to improve the lives of the most vulnerable Iraqis under this programme,” said the representatives of the three Ministries Mr. Maher Johan, Ms. Abeer AlChalabi and Mr. Waleed Al-Mosawi, in a joint statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant loss of jobs and income, making it even more difficult for vulnerable families to afford basic needs such as food and to access health care, education and vital public services, leading to further risks of exclusion. Reforming social protection helps address poverty and vulnerability, as well as support people during shocks, from childhood to old age,” said UNICEF Iraq Representative Sheema Sen Gupta, WFP Iraq Representative Ally-Raza Qureshi, ILO Country Coordinator in Iraq Maha Kattaa, and EU Ambassador to Iraq Ville Varjola, in a joint statement. The three UN agencies will support the Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and Ministry of Trade in evidence generation including assessment and mapping of social protection, public expenditure review of government spending on social protection, and analysis of multidimensional poverty, food insecurity, the labour force, and household access to social protection. The Social Protection Programme therefore creates the base to build an evidence-based approach to reforming social protection, that is supported by policies, enhanced institutional capacities, and effective coordination. Such reforms are especially vital in the context of the pandemic.

The steering committee is led by the Ministry of Planning and co-chaired by the European Union Delegation. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade will chair Technical Working Groups, respectively on agribusiness development and on trade policy.
The meeting reviewed the progress of ongoing project activities and discussed ways for timely implementation of future SAAVI initiatives. Project objectives and activities with focus on the work plan and priorities for 2022 were also examined in detail.
This was also an opportunity for obtaining feedback from the Iraqi government on the progress to ensure that the project catered to the immediate national development priorities.
The steering committee was held at the Ministry of Planning premises in Baghdad and chaired by Dr. Saher Abdulkhaduim Mahdi.
Eric Buchot, who leads the International Trade Centre project in Iraq said, “We are grateful for the opportunity to hear from representatives of the government and of the private sector. The insights received today will help us and our partners in ensuring that our strategic approach caters to the most immediate needs of the agriculture sector and those associated with it.”
Barbara Egger, Head of Cooperation for the EU Delegation, said “The EU is committed to supporting efforts to increase economic opportunities across Iraq. Agriculture value chains have the potential to provide decent work to many young Iraqis, men and women. At the same time, the project will support the Iraqi government as it develops its trade policy and progresses towards the country’s accession to WTO, which is a key component of economic development and job creation. I am therefore pleased that ITC is working closely with the Government while also coordinating with partners and the private sector.” The meeting endorsed the project governance structure, as well as the work plan for the upcoming year. PSC meetings will be held annually.
Project steering committee members expressed their strong commitment to support the project and thanked the European Union for their ongoing support to private sector development and job creation.
All members renewed their commitment to contribute to the discussions and agreed that cooperation and coordination among all actors are key for successful project implementation.
SAAVI contributes to inclusive economic growth and job creation, particularly for youth in Iraq, by improving the country's agriculture competitiveness and supporting trade development.
The project is funded by the European Union (EU) and forms part of the overall EU Special Measure 2019 for Iraq which aims at supporting stabilization and governance through building the capacities of key Iraqi institutions to deliver public services, as well as sustainable job creation through the development of human capital and the private sector.
As such, SAAVI is fully aligned with the activities of FAO, IOM, ILO, UNESCO, and GIZ in the domain of private sector engagement and agricultural development.

Over the past few weeks, we have seen the overall number of cases and deaths in our Region decline, but the situation remains fragile and unpredictable. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have seen the trends evolve in waves, so despite recent decline in our Region over recent weeks, this pandemic is still far from over. Five of 22 countries in our Region -- Egypt, the occupied Palestinian territory, Somalia, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen -- are currently reporting significant surges in COVID-19 cases and deaths. Looking closely at the epidemiological curve, there is a need to speed up the vaccination process and continue to respect all public health and social measures in all countries. Low vaccination coverage in several countries, especially low- and lower-middle income countries is also of concern due to limited deployment capacities. Unfortunately, this means that nine countries are far from achieving WHO’s global target of 10% vaccination coverage by September 2021.  Variants of concerns continue to pose further challenges to our response. To date, 21 countries have officially reported the detection of circulating variants of concern, and the Delta variant is most likely the main variant currently circulating in our Region. Based on evolving trends over the past months, we have seen that countries with a high vaccination coverage and adequate implementation of public health and social measures report shorter waves of COVID-19 and fewer cases. There are no shortcuts. We can break the chain of COVID-19 transmission only when we apply all available measures at once. We must quickly and effectively scale up vaccination coverage and simultaneously apply all other preventative health and social measures, including maintaining physical distancing, handwashing, avoiding crowded and closed spaces, and mask-wearing. Ahead of potential COVID-19 surges, we continue to work closely with countries in the Region to upgrade their surveillance, sequencing, and testing mechanisms to prevent and better respond to these surges.  We call for solidarity and equitable access to vaccines, to move towards the target of all countries protecting 10% of their population by September, 40% by the end of this year and 70% by mid of next year.  While we know that the targets for 2021 will not be met in all countries, we must do our absolute best to come as close as possible and then to accelerate our efforts further in the months ahead.    Under WHO’s goal of Universal Health Coverage, the most vulnerable people, including migrants, refugees, and other displaced populations, must have access to vaccines. Many countries have included these vulnerable groups in their national vaccination plans, and we urge the international community to scale up support to host countries so that they can provide equitable access to COVID-19 care and vaccines. Thanks to the COVAX facility, the Region has received 51.54 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines out of 89 million doses allocated to countries so far. To increase coverage further, we urge high-income countries, donors and partners to spare no effort to increase vaccine supplies for lower-income countries.  COVID-19 has caused much grief and loss. It has placed unprecedented challenges on the capacity of humanitarian agencies and countries. It is now more crucial than ever to work collaboratively, utilize all resources, and implement all available preventative tools so we do not lose more chances to defeat this pandemic.

The last 18 months have highlighted the importance of access to safe potable water, sanitation, waste management, and hygienic conditions to prevent and protect human health during disease outbreaks. Nearly 1.8 billion people world-wide live in inadequate housing, in overcrowded conditions with lack of access to clean water. The absence of basic services leaves families with increased exposure to disease outbreaks, including COVID-19.   On 13 September, UN-Habitat, in cooperation with the European Union, brought together the Governor’s Assistant for Administrative Affairs, Governor’s Assistant for Labor and Social Affairs Departments and Head of DOLSA, the Head of Basra Municipality and representatives from the directorates of Water, Sewage, Planning, Physical Planning, Electricity, Labour and Social Affairs, Health and Environment to discuss upgrading under-serviced neighbourhoods in Basra city, within which some of the poorest families in Basra live as well as provide vocational training and waste management solutions. The purpose of the meeting was to confirm two of the three neighbourhoods within which UN-Habitat will work for the coming three years. The committee has agreed on the general approach to the project and two of the three locations, Al-Ehrar and Al-Kubyah neighbourhoods, and a third will soon be identified.   Mr. Arab Al-Jabri, Governor’s Assistant for Labor and Social Affairs Departments and Head of DOLSA said in his opening remarks, “With the help of this organisation, we can find solutions for these crises, creating work opportunities, in addition to other problems.  We are calling on the local authorities, and Water, Municipality, Environment, Health, to help them move forward in their aim.  We wish them success in elevating the problems, most important the unemployment among the young, the housing crises, and infrastructure. We hope all Directorates respond to their needs.” In her opening remarks, Ms. Barbara Egger, Head of Cooperation for the European Union Delegation to Iraq, said, “Through this project, the European Union is providing critical urban planning support to help the governorate of Basra, in consultation with the people of Basra, to oversee, prioritize, plan and implement priority interventions for improved service delivery and generation of employment. The ownership and leadership of the Basra Governorate, Basra municipality and various technical directorates is key, and we continue to count on sustained close collaboration. We look forward to the next steps in implementation and to the continued focus on sustainability and community engagement.’’ UN-Habitat has worked in Basra for many years, both through normative and operational projects. In 2007, UN-Habitat supported the development and implementation of new laws, policies and programme for solid waste management. More recently, in 2019, UN-Habitat implemented a pilot project in Al Qibla informal settlement to improve living conditions and in 2020, conducted a comprehensive urban assessment of Basra City and published the Basra Urban Profile. One of the key findings of the Basra Urban Profile shows that upgrading of basic services in Basra would considerably reduce environmental problems faced in the city. “Under this project, UN-Habitat will implement a number of activities that contributes to improve the overall living conditions and environment in Basra city. We very much look forward to working very closely with our counterparts in Basra Governorate, Municipality, and relevant Directorates and count on your support to ensure success of this very important project,” said Mr. Wael Al-Ashhab, Head of UN-Habitat Iraq, during the meeting. Mr. Moeen Saleh Al-Hassan, Governor’s Assistant for Administrative Affairs, said at the close of the meeting, “I reiterate my appreciate to the European Union for their time and effort and welcome any project by the European Union.  We thank the European Union for working in Basra, and we will work together to ensure the success of the project.” The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) would like to thank the European Union for supporting the project titled “Increasing Access to Employment Opportunities for Vulnerable Urban Population in Basra City in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis”. This project will provide support for vulnerable populations in underserviced neighbourhoods in Basra City which aim to increase access to employment opportunities in basic services and waste management sectors for unemployed youth, women and vulnerable urban population.