UK adds US$5.2 million for Iraq stabilization, reconstruction: UN

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The United Kingdom has raised its contribution to Iraq’s stabilization and reconstruction funds by US$5.2 million, the United Nations said Monday.

“The Government of the UK has contributed an additional US$5.2 million to UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS), which finances fast-track initiatives in areas liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),” said the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in a statement.

The addition raises the UK’s total contributions to US$15 million, said the organization.

“FFS helps quickly repair public infrastructure, provides grants to small businesses, boosts the capacity of local government, promotes civil engagement and community reconciliation, and provides short-term employment through public works schemes,” the statement explained.

“The level of destruction in western Mosul is the worst in Iraq. Thirty-eight neighbourhoods have been impacted—15 are nearly destroyed. More than 300 stabilization projects are already underway in Mosul, including close to 70 in western Mosul,” said UNDP Resident Representative for Iraq, Ms. Lise Grande.

Iraqi forces ended last week a nearly nine-month military campaign to expel Islamic State extremists from Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the group’s previously proclaimed capital in Iraq. The war destroyed the largest portion of the city’s infrastructure and has so far displaced more than one million people, according to the government.