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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 Iraq Community Action Program (ICAP) encompasses civil society, economic development and community infrastructure strategies in order to create a more capable and sustainable Iraqi civil society. The USAID-funded program empowers communities at the most fundamental level by encouraging members to join Community Action Groups (CAGs) sponsored by IRD. Currently, IRD’s CAG membership exceeds 4,900 active participants - of which 1,863 are women.

Through the CAGs, IRD identifies and trains local citizens to act as community mobilizers who engage in identifying, prioritizing and selecting projects to improve Iraq’s community infrastructure. For example, IRD has assisted in the reconstruction of the University of Baghdad, hospitals, medical clinics, open markets, roads, bridges, schools, and technical education centers.

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

Contact
Ernesto Leonardo
Chief of Party, Iraq Community Action Program (ICAP)
Baghdad, Iraq

Gordon Davis
Chief of Party, Cultural Heritage Program
Baghdad, Iraq

Mary Guiduce
Chief of Party, Humanitarian Assistance Intervention (HAI) program
Erbil, Northern Iraq

Brian Ward
Chief of Party, Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Electricity
Baghdad, Iraq