WATER AND SANITATION
USAID's goal is to improve the efficiency and reliability of existing water and wastewater treatment facilities, especially those in the south where water quantity and quality are particularly low. An anticipated 11.8 million Iraqis will benefit from USAID's $600 million in water and sanitation projects.
HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK
Over 15,650 houses have recently been connected to the Baghdad Water Distribution System. In all, nearly 100 km of main line pipe have been installed in the Baghdad area. The dismantling of the old concrete- asbestos distribution mains from the newly installed network will begin shortly. USAID partners are conducting advanced training in hydraulic modeling using a software program that will aid in determining leaks and low pressure in areas throughout the city.
Baghdad's municipal water distribution system has deteriorated due to poor maintenance and lack of investment for over 20 years. The distribution system reportedly experiences 60 percent loss, three times the acceptable level of water losses for modern systems. It is difficult to precisely determine causes of its water losses, often the result of leaks, illegal connections, and unmetered water uses such as industrial usage, government buildings and fire protection. The effects of failing water mains is felt most in densely-populated districts.
USAID implementers have recently completed a major expansion (50% of original capacity) and are currently installing and refurbishing key equipment at a major water treatment plant north of Baghdad. The Baghdad Water Authority (BWA) projects a 30 percent shortage of daily available potable water for the city of Baghdad. To increase water production, USAID is rehabilitating this water treatment plant. The existing plant was designed for a maximum of 120 million gallons per day (MG/D). However, the operating capacity was as low as 36 MG/D due to lack of proper maintenance and operation. A new raw water intake pump station has been designed and construction is ongoing. Partial closures will be necessary this month as the inlet turbine pumps and motor control centers are installed. Later phases of the project will include training personnel in proper operation and maintenance of the plant equipment. The combined restoration and expansion of the treatment plant is expected to increase the supply of potable water to over 100 MG/D.
Three irrigation pump stations are being refurbished with new equipment. In coordination with the Ministry of Water Resources, new vertical pumps, motor control centers, and transformers are being installed to rehabilitate key drainage and irrigation pump stations in southern Iraq. These and similar pump stations are used extensively to irrigate crops in the arid climate of Iraq. Extensive irrigation systems have made the rural areas surrounding Baghdad exceptionally productive.
AGRICULTURE
USAID's goals are to work in conjunction with Iraqi ministries, the private sector, and higher education institutions to revitalize agricultural production, stimulate income and employment generation, nurture rural development initiatives, and rehabilitate the natural resource base.
HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK
Sunn Pest Control Planned for 2006. Following the Ministry of Agriculture's (MoA) and Agriculture Reconstruction and Development for Iraq's (ARDI) successful sunn pest survey and manual collection program, MoA officials reported higher than expected concentrations of sunn pest in the mountains of Arbil.
Sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps) feed on wheat, injecting an enzyme into wheat grains and rendering them unsuitable for bread making. This has serious economic consequences for next year's wheat and barley crops because the Ministry of Trade silos will not accept wheat with more than a few sunn pest-damaged grains. Sunn pest is one of the most serious wheat pests in Iraq, causing value losses of 50 to 90 percent if not properly controlled.
The MoA/Arbil organized a meeting with participants from Sulaymaniyah, Dahuk, Mosul, and Kirkuk to agree on what measures to take to reduce the threat from sunn pest. ARDI was also invited to contribute based on its experience from current sunn pest control activities. Reduction of the sunn pest population in northern Iraq has the potential to increase viable wheat yields by more that 50 percent in heavily affected areas. The increase in yield of undamaged wheat will enable farmers to sell a larger portion of their crop to the Ministry of Trade, increasing the farmers' income and improving the overall quality and volume of Iraq's wheat harvest.
Zoonotic Diseases Extension and Awareness Program Completed. The first ARDI Zoonotic Diseases Extension and Awareness Program has now been completed. Six teams, each comprised of one veterinarian and one agronomist/animal production specialist, visited 240 villages in Dahuk and Ninawa Governorates to conduct workshops to raise awareness about zoonotic diseases. "Zoonotic" refers to any disease that can be transferred from animals to humans. In Iraq, common zoonotic diseases include Brucellosis, Mange, and Echinococcus. By using proper prevention, infection and transmission rates of these diseases can be sharply lowered.
The program taught proper breeding and handling techniques as a means to lower infection and transmission rates of these diseases in humans and animals. The workshops focused on zoonotic diseases common to sheep, goats, and cattle. Workshop attendees were nearly all women, as they generally have the responsibility for milking and feeding animals and handling newborn animals. Therefore, they are the most susceptible to contracting zoonotic diseases. Workshop topics included proper feeding and milking methods, sanitary food processing, common health risks when working with animals, and handling of newborn animals. In addition, the teams discussed specific zoonotic diseases, including Brucellosis, Mange and Echinococcus.
The women learned the symptoms and treatment of each disease, as well as how to prevent these diseases in animals and humans. Because of the successful completion of the first round of workshops, ARDI is now developing a second course to be delivered in 240 more villages in the coming months. The program ties into the larger goal of improving livestock throughout Iraq to further develop the agricultural sector and improve the livelihoods of farmers.
NATIONAL GOVERNANCE
USAID continues to plan and implement a variety of programs, undertaken in partnership with Iraqi counterparts, matching the needs of the evolving Iraqi democracy. In particular, USAID is accelerating support to the Iraqi National Assembly for the upcoming referendum and elections.
HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK
More than 100,000 Iraqis nationwide participated in The Constitutional Awareness Program. On October 9, NDI's Constitutional Awareness Program reached an important milestone when its 250 partner NGOs in all 18 Iraqi governorates reported having conducted sessions for 101,697 Iraqi participants. Program partners reached their 100,000 goal ahead of schedule. In spite of the logistical challenges linked to the Ramadan fasting period, sessions to educate Iraqis on the content of the constitution continued until the eve of the October 15 Referendum.
The Constitutional Awareness Program conducted its final round of town hall meetings. The meetings resulted in 46 sessions for 3,646 individuals. On average, town hall meetings included 79 individuals who discussed the content of the constitution and the impact it might have on their local communities. Town hall guests were mostly political party leaders, judges, community and NGO leaders and others who will be expected to apply the provisions of the constitution in the course of their work.
NDI conducts final train-the-trainer session for 69 team leaders of the Iraqi Election Information Network (EIN). Lectures, exercises, simulations and videos were used to review specifics of the Iraqi election law, international best practices for monitoring, and how to efficiently coordinate nationwide monitoring activities within the network. These team leaders, along with the 171 others trained the previous week, helped prepare nearly 10,000 volunteers to monitor the October 15 Referendum. A recent United Nation grant to EIN permitted the election monitoring network to double the expected number of monitors to 10,000.
The recent referendum on the constitution has already proved to be another success for democracy in Iraq. Many voters turned out to vote and participate in the democratic process, demonstrating a deep determination to advance the political process. Although not all the information is in, it appears that a million more Iraqis may have voted than did in January 2005.
HEALTH
USAID is supporting the Iraqi Ministry of Health to strengthen essential health services, improve the capacity of health personnel, and respond to the specific health needs of vulnerable populations such as women and children.
HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK
Health experts respond to help the residents of Tel Afar. UNICEF, a USAID implementing partner, delivered seven basic emergency health kits to residents evacuated from Tel Afar during recent military operations. The kits will benefit 7,000 displaced people over the next three months. Over 3,000 collapsible 10-liter containers, purification tablets, and soap were also delivered to displaced residents. Since the evacuation, UNICEF has provided 40,000 liters of safe drinking water to about 2,250 people in the area. To help build the capacity of the Ministry of Health (MoH) to respond to future emergencies, UNICEF worked with USAID and other donors to supply the MoH with an additional 100 basic emergency health kits, capable of benefiting 100,000 people.
Nutrition programs continue deliveries of key supplies throughout the country. As part of the Targeted Nutrition Program (TNP), USAID and UNICEF supplied an additional four pick-up trucks to the MoH over the past month as part of a program to help strengthen the operational and logistical capacity of the Departments of Health in all 18 governorates. In addition, 300 infant length/height measuring boards were delivered to the MoH. This is the third part in a total shipment of 1,300 boards that will be distributed to primary health care centers throughout the country to expand access to growth monitoring activities.
Support for Health Education and Communication continues to strengthen services at primary healthcare centers (PHCs). As part of efforts to prevent diarrheal disease in Iraq, UNICEF is currently supporting training of health education focal points in communication for behavioral change at the PHC level. Training workshops will be held in each governorate, facilitated by health education managers who attended earlier training sessions held in Amman supported by USAID/Iraq through the BASICS Project. UNICEF has also assisted the MoH to finalize two leaflets on diarrhea and environmental health as well as a booklet on Health Care Dialogue for use in health education activities.
It has been estimated that 90 percent of diarrhea episodes can be attributed to three major environmental causes: poor sanitation, poor hygiene, and contaminated water and food. Evidence has shown that interventions such as domestic hygiene promotion, including hand-washing before meals and after defecation, safe water storage, and household water purification can contribute to significant reductions in diarrhea incidence. Since diarrhea continues to be a primary killer of children under five in Iraq, the importance of educating caretakers regarding household hygiene practices is key to achieving improvements in child health.
EDUCATION
USAID's goals are to increase enrollment, improve primary and secondary education, ensure classrooms have sufficient supplies, facilitate community involvement, train teachers, implement accelerated learning programs, and establish partnerships between U.S. and Iraqi colleges and universities.
HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK
Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) classes, to eventually reach 11,000 students this year, began earlier this week in campuses across the country. ALP schools are helping out-of-school youths ages 12-18 return to class, completing two years of primary education in one year. These schools are located in the 10 governorates with the lowest primary school net enrollment rates. Due to enthusiasm for the program, more students than anticipated will be participating and additional classrooms have been opened. This is the first year of ALP classes, following on the successful pilot program of 2003-2004.
A total of 1,000 trained teachers will staff the ALP schools country-wide. For the past year, USAID has supported a cascade-style training program to ensure that these instructors can help students learn quickly and effectively. Workshops and sessions for master trainers continue to take place in Amman and each of the participating governorates.
In addition, ALP schools are receiving supply kits for classrooms and teachers. New and updated textbooks, like the social science books that now reference human rights, are being printed through the support of USAID and UNICEF in coordination with the Ministry of Education. Printing has already started for 52 Arabic titles that will be used by the program. Kurdish textbooks are under bidding and printing is expected to start soon.
With total primary school enrollment at 4,334,609 and a 76 percent primary school completion rate, more than one million Iraqi children either drop out or never attend primary school. In a 2003 USAID survey of out-of-school youth in six governorates, 86 percent of boys and 80 percent of girls stated that they would return to school if they were given the opportunity. ALP will help students catch up with their peers and continue on to secondary education.
Two major Iraqi universities received Biotechnology Resource Kits supplied through the Higher Education and Development (HEAD) program. The kits contain resource materials intended to provide information necessary to address existing and future questions regarding biotechnology. These kits are expected to help establish a knowledge base among Iraqi faculty in anticipation of the development of molecular biology programs at these institutions in the future.
The first issue of the Mesopotamia Journal of Agriculture in over five years was recently published with assistance from the HEAD program. The issue contains 20 papers in Arabic and English reporting original research in the fields of Soil Science, Animal Production, Forestry, Field Crops, Agricultural Engineering, and Plant Protection. After long years of isolation from the international scientific community, the publication of this issue marks a significant step toward the advancement and international recognition of regional research and graduate programs in all areas of agriculture in Iraq. Future editions of the journal are already being prepared with editions to be produced monthly.
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