Rebuilding Efforts in Iraq


FY 2007 Department of State/USAID Joint Highlights
Bureau of Resource Management
February 2008
Report

Photo showing a small business owner beside his grocery stand.

Small businesses have benefited greatly from PRT loan programs to reopen their shops. USAID Photo

The Department of State and USAID are implementing transformational diplomacy in Iraq. Officers from both agencies are deployed throughout the country, in a variety of configurations, to work with Iraqi government and civilian officials to promote reconciliation and to assist in the economic, political and social rebuilding of the country.

Democracy promotion, national reconciliation, economic growth, capacity building and expanding international support for Iraq serve as broad guidelines for reaching U.S. Government goals in Iraq. The Government of Iraq and its people must be the primary force behind the governance, economic, and political development of their country. U.S. Government programs are helping to rebuild institutions and processes to be taken over and managed by the Iraqis by training them to deliver basic services to Iraqi communities.

Iraq’s diverse geographic regions are served by 11 Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT), 13 Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Teams (EPRT), and seven Provincial Support Teams (PST). Eleven of these teams were created during the last nine months of 2007 and by December 2007 candidates for virtually all the State and USAID positions in all the teams had been assigned. Local Iraqi leaders in established provincial and local governments are provided training in transparent and effective governance, promotion of economic development, and responsiveness to constituents.

SUMMARY OF ACHIEVEMENTS

Photo showing the leader of the Baghdad PRT, Andrew Passon of the State Department, chatting with a local businessman in the historic Abu Nawaz area as part of efforts to help the local shops reopen and improve their services.

The leader of the Baghdad PRT, Andrew Passon of the State Department, chats with a local businessman in the historic Abu Nawaz area as part of efforts to help the local shops reopen and improve their services. USAID Photo//Ben Barber
  • Employment of over 300,000 Iraqis in reconstruction projects such as clearing rubble, painting, improving irrigation, and organizing soccer leagues. These jobs are giving youth a stake in society and preventing their marginalization and vulnerability to extremism.
  • Graduation of over 13,000 Iraqis from vocational training courses.
  • Placement of over 5,000 Iraqis in apprenticeship programs.
  • Training of 2,000 council members and 28 governors.
  • Training of over 4,000 civil servants in key Iraqi ministries in executing budgets, management, ethics, auditing, and information technology skills, with an additional 20,000 civil servants targeted for training by July 2009.
  • Distribution of 62,000 micro-credit loans with a combined value of $131 million at an average size of $2,300, spurring the local economy. The program has enjoyed a 98 percent repayment rate.
  • Establishment of and training for over 1,450 Community Action Groups to increase citizen participation in the affairs of their community.
  • Completion of nearly 6,000 community projects in all 18 provinces.
  • Effective sharing of revenue by the central government with the provinces.
  • Noticeable decrease in sectarian violence since December 2006.

The White House’s Benchmark Report in September 2007 stated that since January 2007, of the 18 benchmarks, the Iraqis made satisfactory progress on nine, and unsatisfactory progress on seven. Two benchmarks await rating when necessary preconditions are met.

For additional information, please refer to the following reports:

 

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