Introduction

The Technique for Worldwide Improvement ( IDS ) locations improvement on the coronary heart of the UK’s overseas coverage. It units out a brand new method to improvement, anchored in affected person, long-term partnerships tailor-made to the wants of the international locations we work with, constructed on mutual accountability and transparency. This method goes past assist and brings the mixed energy of the UK’s world financial, scientific, safety and diplomatic strengths to our improvement partnerships. Our 4 priorities are to: ship sincere, dependable funding; present girls and women with the liberty they should succeed; step up our life-saving humanitarian work; and take ahead our work on local weather change, nature and world well being. The Built-in Overview Refresh ( IR23 ) reiterates that sustainable improvement is central to UK overseas coverage and units out how the UK will go additional and sooner on improvement to cut back poverty and reinvigorate progress in direction of the SDGs. This Nation Improvement Partnership Abstract particulars how the IDS and IR23 might be put into apply with Iraq.

Nation context

Iraq is formed by a long time of battle, regional interference, and poor governance. While Daesh was territorially defeated in 2017, many points that led to its rise stay unresolved. Poverty is on the rise; 2.4 million Iraqis stay in acute humanitarian want and 1.2 million stay internally displaced. Human rights indexes proceed to say no, together with particularly for girls and women (166th from 170 international locations globally – Ladies, Peace and Safety Index). Regardless of its higher middle-income standing, Iraq lags its regional neighbours, Lebanon, Jordan and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), in improvement indicators, together with on well being, schooling and GNI per capita ( UNDP Human Improvement Index 2021). Iraqi migrants are within the prime 3 arrivals from small boat crossings to the UK for 2022. Iraq’s financial state of affairs is now the most important danger to its long-term stability. Iraq’s financial system closely depends on oil exports which, in accordance with the Worldwide Financial Fund ( IMF ), in 2022 constituted 55% of Iraq’s GDP, 95% of presidency income and 94% of whole exports. Iraq’s financial system was bolstered final 12 months by excessive oil costs, however progress is now anticipated to gradual from 4.2% in 2023 to 2.2% in 2027. Iraq’s financial system faces extra structural points: a bloated and ineffective public sector, poor primary companies and endemic corruption have hindered authorities reconstruction efforts and funding in human capital and pose a future stability danger.

On the identical time Iraq’s underdeveloped personal sector stifles progress and alternatives for younger Iraqis (Iraq is ranked 172nd out of 190 international locations within the World Financial institution Doing Enterprise Index). Fast inhabitants progress of c1.255 million every year will increase the labour market by roughly 300,000 yearly; with restricted hope for younger Iraqis of discovering appropriate jobs. Iraq will battle to supply jobs and companies as world demand for hydrocarbons falls.

In parallel, the worsening results of local weather change and environmental degradation are starting to be felt. Climbing annual temperatures, worsening sandstorms, rising desertification and growing salination are growing the pressure on Iraq’s already fragile primary companies, and hastening the decline of Iraq’s agricultural sector and rural communities. Water is more and more turning into a serious problem for Iraq, each when it comes to the amount flowing from upstream neighbours and extremely inefficient home utilization. Younger, poor and marginalised Iraqis will more and more expertise the worst results of local weather change risking additional unrest, political instability and displacement of individuals.

Our improvement portfolio targets key drivers of instability, together with financial fragility, local weather vulnerability, inhabitants progress and displacement. Our Battle, Stability and Safety Fund ( CSSF ) ODA portfolio additionally tackles key drivers of instability and goals to assist a extra accountable, succesful and inclusive Iraqi state that’s higher capable of meet the wants of its individuals. While modest in comparison with different donors, the portfolio is designed to:

use small investments to ship coverage change by trialling new approaches

thought management and technical assist to the Authorities of Iraq ( GoI )

) leverage better monetary and political commitments from the GoI and wider worldwide neighborhood

In 2021, the UK and Iraq signed a Strategic Partnership which coated cooperation in financial system, schooling, tradition, science, legislation enforcement, human rights and army and safety. The second UK-Iraq Strategic Dialogue held in July 2023 reaffirmed our ambition to work collectively for our shared nationwide, regional and world pursuits. Our work is underpinned by different plans as properly for Iraq together with Iraq Imaginative and prescient 2030, Iraq’s Worldwide Humanitarian Response Plan, GoI ’s Nationwide Household Planning Technique, Iraq’s Ladies, Peace, and Safety (WPS) Nationwide Motion Plan (NAP) (2021), Iraq’s COP27 Nationally Decided Contributions (NDCs) and Iraq Nationwide Local weather Convention suggestions. Iraq is at present drafting its COP28 Street Map which can form our engagement on local weather change going ahead.

Earlier improvement achievements embrace: assist to large-scale technical help to GoI on monetary sector, social security nets, enterprise rules, and different reforms. The UK contributed over £400 million in humanitarian and stabilisation help to these in areas affected by the Daesh battle. This helped assist over 200,000 individuals with meals help, over 4.2 million individuals with healthcare and 690,000 individuals with secure consuming water, bathroom, and bathe amenities. The UK has offered roughly £32 million by UNDP ’s Funding Facility for Stabilisation (FFS) to rehabilitate infrastructure broken by Daesh together with properties, well being centres, faculties, and core infrastructure (water, electrical energy and sewage techniques) in 5 governorates. We supported the federal government’s nationwide household planning technique and at the moment are offering technical assist to the Ministry of Well being to develop the nationwide household planning costed motion plan to ship this technique. Over 16,000 younger individuals have been reached with life-skills schooling built-in with household planning and reproductive well being rights and gender-based violence prevention (together with messages across the destructive penalties of kid marriage). We’ve got helped introduce a nationwide enrolment technique, high quality assurance and efficiency administration system throughout all 30,000 Iraqi state faculties. We supported engagement on local weather change with Iraq, which led to their accession to the Paris Settlement at COP26, and have continued to have interaction all through COP27 and as much as COP28. We established assist to 19 Iraqi/Kurdish girls’s rights organisations to assist girls play a fuller function in society. With UK assist, a Yazidi Survivors Regulation was handed, a Directorate established, and funding agreed.

The UK was on the forefront of the response to the Daesh battle in Iraq (2014 to 2017), enjoying a number one function within the World Coalition’s struggle towards Daesh, and offering humanitarian and stabilisation help.

Why and the way: the UK’s improvement provide

The UK needs to see a extra secure, peaceable and affluent Iraq. A rustic which may attain its potential and enhance the lives of its individuals. The UK will assist this by partnership with Iraq to counter threats and foster stability and improvement, whereas selling UK pursuits and values. The UK’s improvement provide is a core element of the UK-Iraq partnership.

Virtually 7 years on from the battle, our improvement method has transitioned to supporting the GoI in delivering the mandatory reform and coverage change to sort out the vary of challenges dealing with the nation and unlock Iraq’s full potential.

In contrast to different donors, the UK has important technical experience in nation. Along with our programmes, this has ensured that the GoI sees the UK because the lead worldwide accomplice on financial reform and local weather and makes us extremely influential within the different areas. Working in partnership with the GoI , worldwide neighborhood, finance establishments and nationwide and native companions, this method is aligned with our Center East and North Africa ( MENA ) coverage beneath the IDS which goals to unleash the potential of individuals in middle-income international locations and assist societies by constructing resilient, self-reliant economies by lasting financial and social reform. That is delivered in Iraq by the 4 IDS precedence areas:

Higher financial administration and funding

Working with the G7, World Financial institution and IMF , the UK’s goal is a extra inclusive and diversified financial system in Iraq. We assist a strengthened unbiased and accountable Iraqi state by bettering financial administration and governance – for instance decreasing the limitations limiting the personal sector (eg difficulties accessing finance, a difficult regulatory atmosphere), which helps create personal sector jobs, particularly for youth and girls, and entice funding. The UK’s improvement method works collaboratively with the UK’s Division for Enterprise and Commerce (DBT) and helps commerce and funding into Iraq by serving to to enhance Iraq’s enterprise atmosphere and the convenience of doing enterprise in Iraq.

Elevated local weather resilience

The UK is supporting GoI management on local weather change and serving to enhance capability for gender-responsive local weather mitigation, adaption and an power transition. The UK is exploring better Gulf improvement cooperation in Iraq, to assist long run local weather resilient financial progress, making certain higher nationwide and worldwide collaboration, coordination, and monetary assist.

Improved rights and freedoms

The UK is selling an atmosphere the place all Iraq’s individuals can thrive. Meaning defending minorities, securing different primary rights reminiscent of freedom of expression, enhancing political participation and empowering girls and women. The UK issupporting girls and women by funding grassroots girls’s rights organisations, supporting inclusive and high quality schooling, focussed on deprived communities and bettering entry to household planning and sexual and reproductive well being companies.

Humanitarian help and sturdy options

Constructing on the UK’s humanitarian assist, and dealing intently with the GoI , worldwide neighborhood and the UN, the UK is supporting the return and reintegration of 1.2 million displaced Iraqis, supporting IDPs and returnees from throughout Iraq and Northeast Syria to assist scale back Iraqi vulnerability to underlying drivers of instability and battle.

The UK’s work in Iraq helps drive progress on the Sustainable Improvement Objectives (SDGs) and helps Iraq Imaginative and prescient 2030. The UK’s financial reform and funding initiatives helps the SDGs on first rate work and financial progress (8). CSSF , improvement programming and our diplomatic work contribute to the SDGs on peace, justice and robust establishments (16) and local weather motion (13). The British Council in Iraq lead the UK’s contribution to high quality schooling (SDG 4). We promote gender equality (SDG 5) all through our work.

Who we work with

The UK works intently with the GoI (together with Prime Minister’s Workplace, Ministries of Finance, Planning, Well being, Atmosphere, Water Assets, Oil, Electrical energy, Migration and Displacement and Schooling), UN subject missions ( UNAMI and UNITAD ) and businesses (eg UNDP , UNFPA , IOM , UNHCR ), Iraqi civil society (together with native girls’s rights organisations), Worldwide non-governmental organisations (Cordaid Worldwide and IRC) and personal sector companions. The World Financial institution, IMF and the G7 are key companions, together with as a part of the Iraq Financial Contact Group, arrange by the UK, to assist Iraq on its financial reform priorities.

We proceed to work intently and coherently with our companions and mix our modest but strategic ODA funding with UK improvement experience (eg on local weather, financial system, and battle) and our diplomatic, safety, and industrial work. Collectively this allows us to affect and leverage better monetary and political commitments from the GoI , Worldwide Finance Establishments and the broader worldwide neighborhood. The GoI priorities intently align with the UK’s. For instance, the Iraqis are more and more linking local weather motion to financial reform. Our improvement experience and political partnership is extremely valued by the GoI and different companions.

Key packages in 2023 to 2024

Iraq Catalytic Financial Diversification Programme (ICED)

This programme promotes financial reform and reduces limitations to funding, thereby bettering job alternatives for the quickly rising inhabitants; it gives financial house for elevated funding in primary companies.

Constructing Peace and Stability in Iraq (BPSI)

This programme helps the efficient return and reintegration of Internally Displaced Folks ( IDPs ) into native communities, together with Iraqis coming back from North-east Syria, with a give attention to feminine headed households.

Demographic Transition in Iraq Programme (DTIP)

This programme helps girls and women’ empowerment by serving to to ship household planning companies and selling selection for girls and women round their reproductive and well being rights.

Catalytic Local weather Motion in Iraq

This programme helps Iraq’s Nationally Decided Contribution (NDC) implementation, trans-boundary water negotiations and power transition.

CSSF Technical Help Fund for Iraq (TAFFI)

This programme gives small-scale, catalytic technical help to assist GoI service supply and construct resilience, that assist handle underlying drivers of instability.

CSSF Ladies’s Voices First (WFV)

This programme helps native girls’s rights organisations to ship on self-identified neighborhood priorities by service provision, coverage and advocacy in Iraq.

CSSF Encouraging Political Pluralism Via Youth Mobilisation and Difficulty-Based mostly Advocacy

This programme helps to foster broader participation in Iraqi political life by a wider part of society.

FCDO centrally-led programmes

FCDO centrally led programmes reinforce nation goals and embrace: IFC’s World SME finance facility to assist funding for small and medium measurement enterprises, Local weather and Atmosphere ‘PHENOMENAL’ Programme ( MENA regional), the UK Cultural Safety Fund (delivered by British Council) and Stopping Sexual Violence in Battle Initiative (world programme) which helps Yazidi’s Survivors Regulation mission in Iraq.

Agility and suppleness

Our modest ODA portfolio is supported by UK technical experience. It’s agile and coherent enabling us to flex and adapt as native context and FCDO and His Majesty’s authorities priorities evolve.

Monitoring

Programmes are monitored recurrently in 12 months and thru annual and mission completion critiques. Third Get together Monitoring, integrated into some programmes, strengthens assurance and helps studying and proof.

British Council

The British Council leads the Capability Constructing Programme in Major and Secondary Schooling working to enhance entry, inclusion and high quality of college schooling in Iraq. It gives specific assist for women’ schooling and better inclusion for kids with disabilities in all 30,000 state faculties throughout Iraq. The Schooling Can’t Wait (ECW) initiative with Save the Kids helps round 200,000 marginalised and out-of-school youngsters, significantly women from displaced communities who reside within the Kurdistan Area of Iraq (KRI). British Council additionally gives additional developmental help by its portfolio of grant-funded programmes on English instructing throughout the schooling system, on arts and tradition partnerships which assist cultural heritage and the inventive financial system and on non-formal schooling with a give attention to youth management for civic engagement.

Monetary info

Preliminary allocations have been set internally to ship the priorities set out within the Worldwide Improvement Technique (Might 2022) and the Built-in Overview Refresh 2023, based mostly on the FCDO’s Spending Overview 2021 settlement.

The division’s spending plans for the interval 2022 to 2023 to 2024 to 2025 have been revisited to make sure HM Authorities continues to spend round 0.5% of Gross Nationwide Revenue ( GNI ) on ODA . This was within the context of the numerous and surprising prices incurred to assist the individuals of Ukraine and Afghanistan escape oppression and battle and discover refuge within the UK, and others searching for asylum. The federal government offered extra sources of £1 billion in 2022 to 2023 and £1.5 billion in 2023 to 2024 to assist meet these unanticipated prices. The Authorities stays dedicated to returning ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI when the fiscal state of affairs permits, in keeping with the method confirmed by the Home of Commons in July 2021.

The nation improvement partnership summaries embrace the breakdown of programme budgets allotted to particular person international locations for 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025. These allocations are indicative and topic to revision as, by its nature, the division’s work is dynamic. Programme allocations are frequently reviewed to reply to altering world wants, together with humanitarian crises, fluctuations in GNI and different ODA allocation choices.

It must be famous that these figures don’t replicate the total vary of UK ODA spending in these particular person international locations as they don’t embrace spend delivered through core contributions to multilateral organisations, or regional programmes delivered by the FCDO’s central departments. Different UK Authorities departments additionally spend a considerable amount of ODA abroad. Particulars of ODA spent by different UK authorities departments may be discovered of their annual report and accounts and the Statistics for Worldwide Improvement.

Determine 1. Bilateral ODA 2023 to 2024: girls and women, 35%; local weather, 31%; British Worldwide Funding, 19%; humanitarian, 15%; different, 0%.

Of bilateral ODA programmes in Iraq in 2022 to 2023, 50% was marked as being principally or considerably targeted on selling gender equality and 25% was marked as being principally or considerably targeted on incapacity inclusion.

FCDO Official Improvement Help allocation

Allotted ODA finances for monetary 12 months 2023 to 2024 Indicative ODA finances for monetary 12 months 2024 to 2025 Bilateral ODA £6.5 million Bilateral ODA allocations are indicative for 2024 to 2025. The Iraq ODA allocation might be reviewed later within the 12 months.

Supporting info sources