Projects

Short Description:

Overall goal

The overall objective of FFES is to support expanded stabilization in newly liberated areas of Iraq, which will foster the safe return of internally displaced persons, create significant numbers of jobs, and strengthen immediate stabilization gains until full reconstruction can commence.

Expected results

High impact medium-size projects are reconstructed and local businesses supported in order to sustain gains in stabilization:

a. As requested by the Government of Iraq (GoI), support communities liberated from ISIL and those returning to liberated areas with urgently needed income and economic opportunity.

b. As part of reconstructing / rehabilitating priority infrastructure, support the rehabilitation of primary and secondary schools for boys and girls.

Target group / Beneficiaries

Expected Beneficiaries:

The Austrian contribution could, for instance, be applied to rehabilitating schools that suffered considerable damage under ISIL occupation. Schools in Iraq are of standard design with either 12 or 18 classes. With the Austrian contribution it is expected that one to two 12-classroom schools will be fully rehabilitated, enabling more than 1,200 boys and girls to return to school (30 per class, two shifts per day). As well, more than 40 teachers and support staff will be able to return to work.

Partners:

Government of Iraq (provincial governments and councils, technical directorates of line ministries at governorate and central level, and local mayor offices), local NGOs, private sector companies, local and international.

Target Areas:

a. Anbar Province, notably, Ramadi and Fallujah. These areas have already been endorsed by the Steering Committee.

b. Ninewah Province, with particular focus on Mosul after liberation.

Activities

a. Rapid assessment on target communities to assess stabilization needs and priorities;

b. Project development (Bills of Quantities, scope of works, etc)

c. Tendering project according to international UNDP standards and best practice;

d. Implementation and monitoring;

e. Project handover to relevant line directorate;

f. Report activities and document lessons learned.

Given the sensitive nature of stabilization and the fragile conditions prevailing in many newly liberated areas, concerns relating to human rights, protection, gender and inclusion are taken into account during all phases of stabilization. Gender is mainstreamed in the prioritization and sequencing of activities, across all areas. While all windows under the Funding Facility are targeting both genders equally as beneficiaries, livelihoods support activities including small grants to support micro local business as well as small grants for female-headed households are of particular note. FFS has a dedicated gender specialist to identify further means to ensure stabilization activities further empower women in liberated areas.

Context

The Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) was prepared in response to the Government of Iraq’s need to stabilize areas newly liberated from ISIL. A concept note was presented to and endorsed by the Prime Minister and leading Coalition members at the international meeting of the Coalition’s Working Group on Stabilization, which is co-chaired by Germany and the United Arab Emirates. A project document was signed and established on June 11, 2015 and a revision of the document was approved on 31 March 2016. FFIS is overseen by a Steering Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff and the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG)/Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator/Resident Representative. Key partners and counterparts are members. The Facility is managed by UNDP, which also serves as the secretariat to the Steering Committee. FFES was initiated in April 2016 at the request of the GoI to meet the urgent needs until full reconstruction commences.

The total resources required for the entire FFS programme period - May 2015 to December 2018 - are currently (March 2017) estimated at 710 million USD.