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Iraq

Answer

A number of donors are assisting the Iraqi Ministry of Education in school reconstruction projects in Iraq and considerable progress has been made. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is undertaking a countrywide programme which has so far rehabilitated over 2,510 schools. United Nations agencies are also carrying out school rehabilitation projects in Baghdad and southern Iraq. The World Bank has agreed an emergency school construction and rehabilitation project to finance the rehabilitation of about 140 schools and the construction of new buildings for about 110 schools which currently have unsafe or overcrowded facilities. The UN and World Bank projects are being financed through the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq, to which DFID has contributed £70 million. The UN, the World Bank, and USAID are also assisting with the provision of essential educational supplies, including textbooks and furniture.The Iraqi Ministry of Health is leading on the rehabilitation of health services in Iraq, working closely with international agencies including the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Ministry of Health reports that more than 75 hospitals and nearly all the primary care clinics which were damaged or looted during and after the 2003 conflict have been rehabilitated. Further work to construct and rehabilitate hospitals in Iraq is under way, and health services are gradually improving. More than $1 billion has been pledged by donors in support to the health sector. United States agencies are renovating 20 hospitals and constructing a new Paediatric Hospital in Basra, and the Japanese Government is funding the rehabilitation of 11 general hospitals. The World Bank has agreed a $25 million emergency health and rehabilitation project to finance the rehabilitation of emergency services in 12 hospitals. This is being funded from the International reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq, managed jointly by the UN and World Bank, to which DFID has contributed £70 million.Despite this considerable investment, it will still take several years for Iraq's education and health sectors to recover fully from the underinvestment and poor management of Saddam Hussein's regime, and approach the standards of service expected in developed countries.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

8432; 436 c470-2W

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Iraq Reconstruction

Contains statistics

Yes