Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq - United States Department ...

Water and SanitationAs of December 2006, Iraqi Relief andReconstruction Fund (IRRF)-funded waterprojects have added or restored potable watertreatment for approximately 5.35 millionIraqis who did not have access to potablewater in April 2003. This is an increase of150,000 since the November 2006 report. Todate, IRRF-funded projects have also restoredsewage treatment capacity sufficient to servearound 5.1 million Iraqis, 100,000 short ofthe U.S. end state goal.The agricultural sector uses approximately90% of the water consumed, but has tremendouspotential to improve the efficiency ofwater use. Toward this end, in 2005 and2006, the U.S. Government funded Phase I ofa new national water master plan for Iraq,which, once completed, will guide waterresource development in Iraq for the nextthree decades.Nutrition and PovertyIn 2006, the UN World Food Programme(WFP) continued to provide assistancethrough a 12-month operation targeting themost vulnerable groups in Iraq. The operationwill continue in 2007, providing food assistanceto more than 3.7 million malnourishedchildren and their family members. WFP“safety net” activities include school feedingand supplementary feeding, which buildalternative safety net mechanisms for thePublic Distribution System.AgricultureTo help revitalize Iraq’s agricultural sector,the U.S. Department of Agriculture initiated aprogram to enhance agricultural training atIraqi universities. In addition, Department ofAgriculture personnel are participating inprovincial and ministerial capacity-buildingefforts as agricultural officers and advisors atIraq’s Ministry of Agriculture and in the U.S.Embassy and Provincial ReconstructionTeams.The Ministry of Agriculture and othersassociated with agriculture in Iraq have notmade adequate progress in leveraging Iraq’spotential. Lack of modern seed and fertilizer,under-developed irrigation systems, and lackof pesticides have all contributed to underachievementof potential. This, in turn, hascaused Iraq to continue to be overly dependenton imported food and to fail to achieve amarked increase in employment for the agriculturalsector.13March 2, 2007