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Iraq: A New Beginning Building the Future of Iraq
Iraq:A New Beginning
Building the Future of Iraq
The World – Richer and Healthier? -- Hans Rosling
• World has become richer but also more unequal, impacting child survival and child well being
• National aggregates are increasingly viewed as a very limited means of addressing poverty, underlying the importance and the need for a more disaggregated analysis
• Children’s wellbeing, access to basic services and protection no longer depend on which country they live, but more on where they live within a certain country
UNICEF: Narrowing the Gaps Study
• In September 2010 UNICEF published a study on the impact of an equity-focused development strategy
• Results showed that an Equity-based strategy focusing on the most deprived children is more cost-effective
• This has huge implications for what we do: in one typology, the equity-based approach proved to be 60%more effective in saving lives
• This therefore moves us more quickly towards attaining the MDGs than the path we are on
Issues & Investment in ChildrenDescription # Children ‘000s Estimated USD $M
Underweight Children (moderate & severe) 378 26
Children not enrolled in primary school 733 72
Children out of Secondary school (12-17 year-olds) 1964 180
Illiterate Young Women 1007 100
Newborn die before their first month of life 24 10
Infants die before their first birthday 36 10
Children die before their fifth birthday 212 20
Mothers die every year during childbirth 0.87 20
Children without access to any safe drinking water
source2409 200
Children without access to an improved sanitation type 3429 200
Children without access to solid waste disposal
services9459 38
Children involved in Child labour 456 20
Child discipline (severe physical punishment) 3230 30
Attitudes towards domestic violence 4178 40
Capacity Development and Institution Building -- 60
Total -- 1026
Iraq’s Children: The Last 30 years
Regional Comparison:
Iraq, Iran, Tunisia and Jordan
MDG 2+3: Primary School Enrolment• Iraq had the highest primary enrolment for boys and the 2nd lowest for girls in
1960; today, it has the lowest enrolment for both boys and girls
• If Iraq had progressed at the same average as the other countries, primary enrolment would be at 100 for both boys and girls (MDG targets achieved)
94
36
87
82
88
43
96
97
94
59
89
91
56
27
91
100
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Male
Female
Male
Female
19
60
20
03
-20
08
Primary School Enrolment Ratio (Net)
Iraq
Tunisia
Jordan
Iran
MDG 4: Infant Mortality• Iraq had the 2nd lowest IMR in 1981; today, it has the highest
• If Iraq had progressed at the same average as the other countries, IMR would today be 18 (MDG target = 17), half the current rate (36) which means ~20,000 less children would die before their 1st birthday
80 (2nd lowest)
36 (highest)
70
17
100
27
100
18
15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95
1981
2008
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births)
Iraq
Jordan
Iran
Tunisia
MDG 7: Access to Safe Water• Iraq had the 2nd highest access to safe water in 1980s; today, it has the lowest
• If Iraq had progressed at the same average as the other countries, access to safe water would today be 100% (MDG target = 90%)
87 (2nd highest)
77 (lowest)
76
92
68
94
96
98
65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100
1985-88
2006
Percentage with Access to Safe Water
Iraq
Iran
Tunisia
Jordan
Iraq Progress 1960s-2008• Until 1980s, Iraq was among the best countries to be a child; today, it has
stalled behind.
• If Iraq had continued progress at the same average as Iran, Jordan and Tunisia, it would today have already achieved key MDG 2015 targets!
MDG/WFFC Goal Iraq TodayMDG 2015
Target
Iraq if at average progress of Iran, Jordan
and Tunisia
Goal 2: EducationPrimary Enrolment
Boys: 87Girls: 82
Boys: 100Girls: 100
Boys: 100Girls: 100
Goal 3: Gender EqualityGender Parity Index
94 100 100
Goal 4: Child MortalityInfant Mortality
36 17 18
Goal 7: EnvironmentSafe Water
77 90 100
Today’s Children
Out of every 20 children in Iraq:
• 1 child dies before reaching their 5th birthday
• 4 will have stunted growth
• 3 will not attend primary school
• 1 will be working
• 6 will face severe physical discipline
• 9 will be out of school by adolescence
• 4 will be poor
• 3 will not have safe water
• 14 will not have public sewage network
Children to Target
MDG 2+3 (Education + Gender Parity): 730,000 more children 6-11 yr would be enrolled in primary school
MDG 4 (Child Mortality): 36,000 children out of every birth cohort would not die before reaching their 1st
birthday
MDG 7 (Environment): 2.4 million more children would have access to safe water
• If prioritized, Iraq will achieve key MDG targets
Progress Held Back by Extreme Disparities
After remarkable progress up to 1980s; since 1990s children’s issues stalled.
In recent years progress has again renewed across all areas; but still substantial work is needed to achieve national targets.
National figures are pulled down by pockets of extreme deprivation
MDG 1: Poverty
• 8 Governorates concentrate 70% of the poor, 2.3 million children (shaded red)
NinevehBaghdad
Salahuddin
Thi-Qar
Kirkuk
Kerbala
Al-Najaf
Missan
Sulimaniya
Al-Muthanna
Wasit
Erbil
Dohuk
Babil
Basrah
Al-Anbar
Al-Qadisiya
-
10
20
30
40
50
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Po
vert
y R
ate
(%
)
Number of Children living in poverty ('000)
Population below National Poverty Line (US$ 2.2 person/day)
MDG 2+3: Education + Gender Parity• An urban boy in Iraq is much more likely to receive education than a rural girl
• Large gaps exist according to mother’s education
94
68
53
14
Urb
an B
oys
Ru
ral G
irls
Urb
an B
oys
Ru
ral G
irls
Primary NAR
Secondary NAR
97
6872
96
85
93100
83
2934
7975
71
10
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Primary NAR Net primary completion
Secondary NAR
Primary GPI Transition to secondary
Secondary GPI
Young Women
Literacy (15-24)
Life-cycle continumm of education according to mother's education
Secondary+
Primary
None
MDG 7: Access to Safe Water• While over 60% of children live in urban areas, only 8% of them do not have access
to safe water; whereas, 92% of children in rural areas do not have access to safe water
Urban
Rural
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500% o
f H
ou
seh
old
s w
ith
acc
ess
to s
afe
wat
er
Number of Children without access to safe water ('000)
Protection: Child Labour & Child Marriage• Twice as many children with mothers who have no education are working
compared to mother who have secondary education or above
• Five times as many children with mothers who have no education get married before 15 yrs of age compared to mothers who have secondary education or above
• Nearly three times as many children with mothers who have no education get married before 18 yrs of age compared to mothers who have secondary education or above
14
10
33
11
6
27
7
2
12
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Child Labour Married before age 15 (15-49) Married before age 18 (20-49)
Child Labour and Marriage by Mother's Education
None Primary Secondary+
Narrowing the Gaps: Bringing National Figures Up
Increased focused investments on the most deprived children is needed
Narrowing the gaps will accelerateIraq’s MDG attainment with Equity
Approaches for Investment
• Social transfers
• Sovereign funds
• Innovative taxation
Sovereign Funds
• Chile – Economic & Social Stabilization Fund and Pension Reserve Funds from copper revenues
• Kuwait – Future Generations Fund 10% of all state revenues transferred into it
• Norway – Norwegian Government Pension Funds
• Azerbaijan – State Oil Fund
• Chad – Chad-Cameroon pipeline project ($ 2 b)
Social Transfers
Country Benefit Budget Coverage Benefits
Brazil $18/extremely poor family
$2.1 B 8 M Reduced absenteeism among students
Honduras $4/family $25M 0.4 M Increased demand for education, health services
Mexico $13/family 2.8 B 5 M Improved social indicators
Nicaragua $18/family $6.37 M 21 T
His Name is Today
We are guilty of many errors and many faults,But our worst crime is abandoning the children,Neglecting the fountain of life.Many of the things we need can wait,The child cannot wait.Right now is the time his bones are being formed,His blood is being made,And his senses are being developed.To him we cannot answer ‘tomorrow’His name is Today.
Gabriela Mistral
