UNDP Iraq, FFES Phase II

active

At the request of the Iraqi government, UNDP has expanded the existing Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) to include the Funding Facility for Expanded Stabilization (FFES). While the Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilization (FFIS) aims at rapid and immediate effects (primarily cash for work measures), the financial contribution to be made in favor of the FFES as part of this project is aimed at the financially and time-consuming reconstruction of larger public infrastructure in heavily devastated Iraq. Projects worth more than USD 2 million and with an implementation period of 2 - 3 years are financed. FFIS and FFES are combined under the umbrella of the UNDP FFS in Iraq and are managed by the same steering committee. The aim of FFES is to contribute to strengthening the Iraqi government's ability to act and perform in the field of stabilization and reconstruction. To achieve this, the public infrastructure is to be repaired or rebuilt to such an extent that basic supplies can be provided to the local population and the permanent return of internally displaced persons to their home regions can continue to be possible. The target group is the population living in Mosul in northern Iraq. This contribution to the FFES (EUR 30 million) will be used to rehabilitate two large hospitals in Mosul by mid-2020: the Oncology Clinic at the Al Shifa Medical Complex in West Mosul and the Ibn Al Atheer Children's Hospital in East Mosul. Due to the extensive destruction caused by the fighting against IS and delays in reconstruction measures, many people in Iraq are currently only able to return to their home regions partially or with a delay. As of February 2019, around 1.8 million Iraqis are still considered internally displaced. In addition, there is widespread and massive destruction of the infrastructure in the formerly heavily contested Mosul. There, 70% of the infrastructure was considered destroyed, which is significantly higher than the level of destruction in other Iraqi cities. West Mosul remains particularly affected, where 15 residential areas have been completely destroyed. The region has also taken in around 250,000 Syrian refugees. The returning internally displaced persons and the rest of the population of Mosul urgently need access to health services. However, Mosul's health sector, which was considered one of the best in the country, was massively damaged in the course of the fighting and the population continues to suffer from a significant lack of functioning health facilities, especially for specialist treatment. The city's hospitals and the Al-Shifaa medical complex in the western part of the city with numerous specialist facilities have been partially or completely destroyed and are completely out of service. The city's health care is partially ensured by makeshift facilities and so-called health centers. As part of an increase (EUR 10 million), measures to improve health care in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic are to be implemented in 2020. The plan is to improve personal protective equipment for medical staff and to create and set up special isolation and treatment areas for COVID-19 patients, including equipment.