Germany supports Iraqis affected by conflict, climate change
The World Food Program emblem. Photo: Basnews
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) received a 22.5 million euro (nearly 23.9 million USD) contribution from Germany to support capacity-building activities in coordination with the Iraqi government, according to a press release issued by the WFP.
The contribution will also empower youth through vocational training and assist vulnerable communities in Iraq to rebuild their livelihoods, the statement mentioned.
This contribution will support WFP’s ongoing efforts to support youth from food insecure households to find pathways towards food security through dignified livelihoods and improving the economic situation of vulnerable communities, the statement elaborated.
To restore farming in agricultural areas affected by conflict, WFP has been providing assistance to local vulnerable farmers through the rehabilitation of irrigation canals and water stations, the statement further explained.
“Germany commends the important work of WFP to improve living conditions of vulnerable communities in Iraq. We continue to work with WFP to improve resilience, rebuild livelihoods and strengthen capacities to adapt to the consequences of drought, heat and desalination,” the German Ambassador to Iraq, Martin Jager, said.
In 2021, WFP managed to rehabilitate and restore more than 30 thousand hectares of arable land and more than three thousand kilometers of irrigation and water drainage canals in Iraq benefitting more than 104 thousand people.
In 2023, WFP will continue the vocational skills trainings coupled with lessons on entrepreneurship and online marketing, prioritizing youth and women. Lessons learned from previous initiatives have shown the impact these trainings had on improving the economic situation of trained youth as well as the need to scale up such interventions in other vulnerable areas in Iraq, the statement added.