How cash-for-work programmes in Iraq are supporting people through poverty and shocks, as well as laying foundations for longer-term resilience.

Four years since the declared end of the conflict with ISIL, Iraq still faces many challenges in rebuilding. Some seven million Iraqis – nearly a quarter of the population – live in poverty, with few decent jobs available as the economy struggles to recover.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic – which led to losses of livelihoods and reduced incomes – it was estimated that around 14 percent of the population in Iraq was unemployed, though this was thought to be much higher in some areas.

Supporting the people of Diyala and Salah al Din recover, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has partnered with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) to provide immediate livelihoods assistance with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), provided through KFW Development Bank.

Support to deal with shocks

“My son was diagnosed with a kidney problem and required treatment that cost a lot of money, which I did not have. To this day I am still repaying [the loan I took out to pay for] it,” says 31-year-old Abbas, from Al Khalis in Diyala. He had to leave his job in construction after he was injured. Unfortunately, this was not the last of his family’s struggles.

Not long after, his daughter also got sick and needed expensive medicine. Cash-for-work – which focuses on providing immediate livelihood opportunities has helped Abbas meet his children’s medical costs and start paying back his debt. This type of assistance supports vulnerable households to meet their immediate needs.

Women face challenges

Women face particular challenges due to prevailing gender norms, with only about 10 percent of Iraq’s working population made up of women. This often makes them more vulnerable to shocks and poverty, especially when compounded by displacement. Yet the work of many women provides the only source of income for their families.

Naila is 26 years-old and is still displaced because of the conflict; she is the sole breadwinner in her family. Her income helps support her father, who is blind, as well as her mother and young sisters. They live in a rental house in Tikrit, in Salah al Din, that’s less than an hour’s drive away from her village of origin. Naila and her family are unable to return home due to the destruction of her house and lack of livelihood opportunities in the area.

“When [ISIL] took over the area, they ordered residents to leave. We fled, left everything we owned and stayed away for four years. When we returned to Tikrit, we knew that our village was destroyed and there was nothing left to return to,” says Naila.

Naila now runs a small salon from her house. She registered in the cash-for-work programme to help make ends meet. With the money she earned from cash-for-work, she was able to support her family.

Supporting longer-term resilience and community recovery

And while these opportunities help meet needs in the short-term, they can also lay the foundation for longer-term resilience. Naila, for example, was able to buy some materials and tools which helped her improve and develop her salon. This, she says, “made my business much better than before, which made me feel stronger in facing my difficulties in life.”

While on the other hand, for Abbas, after treating his daughter he plans to open his own business, which will be a water purification plant.

The story was originally published by Danish Refugee Council. Read it here.