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Covid-19: Iraqi Govt announces New Measures

By John Lee.

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi chaired on Monday a meeting in Baghdad of the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety.

At the start of the meeting, the Prime Minister told the Committee that the coronavirus pandemic challenge facing Iraq is unprecedented, and that this challenge has been exacerbated by cumulative past administrative failures.

Following discussions, the Committee decided to:

  • Provide the necessary additional funding, through inter-government fiscal transfer arrangements, to the Ministry of Health
  • Direct state-owned profitable and self-financing enterprises to support the Ministry of Health, and for the extra funds to be used by the provincial health authorities for the direct purchase of medicine and medical supplies
  • Permit the Ministry of Health to recruit additional medical staff, both on continuing and short term contracts, and to fund their salaries through inter-government fiscal transfer arrangements
  • Direct the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers to prepare a draft law to grant medical and health professionals who have died as a result of their work combatting Covid-19 a pension equal to their last salary
  • Allow a number of  accredited private laboratories to conduct Covid-19 tests based on the strict criteria set by the Ministry of Health
  • Permit oxygen imports to enter Iraq via all border crossings, and to suspend payment by the Ministry of Health of the cost of oxygen supplies until its finances have recovered
  • Amend the partial curfew to start from 7 PM to 6 AM in line with the increase in daylight hours
  • Direct Baghdad Operations Command and the operations commands in the provinces to strictly enforce the curfew restrictions, and to hold them responsible for curfew violations
  • Direct Baghdad Municipality and the Directorate Civil Defence to disinfect areas in Baghdad which have a high rate of Covid-19 cases 
  • Exclude staff of the Arab Company for Antibiotic Industries and Supplies (AKAI) from curfew restrictions 
  • The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall coordinate with other countries which have announced that they are working on a potential treatments for Covid-19, and to negotiate with these countries to ensure that Iraq receives the necessary medicines and supplies  

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

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Awareness is Key to Flattening COVID-19 Curve

Awareness is key to flattening the COVID-19 curve in Iraq

The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Iraq, today began a major COVID-19 awareness-raising campaign targeting people living in high-risk and heavily affected areas in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

The campaign will mobilize more than 250 community volunteers to deliver critical information, education and communications materials to approximately 6 million people living in 10 heavily populated districts for 4 weeks from 29 June to 28 July 2020.

“Health is the responsibility of all, and raising people’s awareness is essential to containing the aggressive spread of COVID-19,” said Dr Adham R. Ismail, WHO Representative in Iraq. “WHO, the Ministry of Health, partners and donors are working hand in hand to fight this pandemic, and until a vaccine is developed we have to unite our efforts to flatten the curve and keep our communities healthy and safe,” he added.

The campaign will use mobile screens, booths and mobile medical clinics to display WHO educational videos and audio messages on a variety of protective and disinfection measures. State and private radio and TV channels will support the campaign with daily messages for the month. In addition personal protection packages containing masks, hand sanitizers, campaign slogan T-shirts and caps, COVID-19 awareness-raising flyers and other educational materials will be distributed to people in public places, main streets and bazaars.

Iraq recently reported a significant increase in the number of cases in Baghdad after lockdown measures were eased nationwide. Health authorities have tied the increase in numbers to increased testing capacity and improved active surveillance and weak adherence of people living in crowded districts to adopting protective measures as recommended by WHO and the Ministry of Health, such as practising good hand hygiene and social distancing and wearing masks.

The campaign includes support from key religious figures who have mobilized thousands of mosques in the capital to disseminate audio messages. “With no cure yet but prevention, we have to continue educating our people on the importance of following the health advice of WHO and the national health authorities to save our lives and protect our health workers,” a cleric attending the campaign opening in Sadir City, where the vast slums of eastern Baghdad are located, commented.

“WHO is aware of the challenging impact of the lockdown and movement restrictions on the limited and daily income which families in many areas in Baghdad earn. However, the Organization urges all individuals to follow safety measures and wear masks in gatherings and public places, keep hands clean, and pratise social distancing to stop transmission of the virus,” Dr Adham stressed.

WHO would like to extend its thanks to the Government of Kuwait and the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) for co-funding this campaign, and to WHO’s implementing partner the United Iraqi Medical Society for supporting its implementation.

(Source: WHO)

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Video: Coronavirus Threatens Herders in Iraq’s Marshes

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting a community in Iraq’s historic marshes.

For years, people there have relied on the wetlands for herding water buffaloes.

But the pandemic is now threatening their livelihood.

Al Jazeera‘s Katia Lopez-Hodoyan reports:

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UAE Sends Medical Aid to Iraq to Fight COVID-19

The UAE has sent an aid plane carrying 10.5 metric tons of medical supplies to Iraq to bolster the country’s efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.

This aid will assist approximately 10,500 medical professionals as they work to contain the virus.

Commenting on the aid delivery, Mohamad Saleh Altenaiji, Charge d’affaires of the UAE Embassy in Baghdad, said:

“The UAE has contributed to supporting our Iraqi brothers for years and continues to provide all possible support in all areas, particularly the economic and developmental realms. The UAE is also keen to protect and preserve Iraq’s cultural heritage in the face of terrorist threats that have tried to destroy and maim it.

“In continuation of these efforts, the UAE’s wise leadership sent a medical aid plane today to support the efforts of health workers to deal with COVID-19, which comes in addition to the recent medical assistance sent to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.”

To date, the UAE has responded to the COVID-19 crisis by providing over 974 metric tons of aid to 68 countries, supporting more than 974,000 medical professionals in the process.

(Source: Govt of UAE)

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Video: Doctors Warn of Surge in COVID-19 Cases

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Iraq is seeing an unprecedented rise in the number of coronavirus infections as doctors warn the healthcare system is close to collapse.

Ten days after the government decided to partly ease the curfew in Iraq, the rate of COVID-19 infections is rising rapidly, with more than 1,800 new cases recorded a day.

Al Jazeera‘s Simona Foltyn reports from Baghdad:

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IBBC, World Bank introduce Free Training for Iraqi SMEs

You are invited to help IBBC and World Bank to introduce Iraqi SME’s to FREE business training courses

WHEN: 29th June, 6pm to 8pm Iraq time

Please share this free business training initiative and the course registration with any SME in your network, however small, and encourage them to sign up.

Arabic version for sharing with your contacts here
WebEx Link: Join Using WebEx

YouTube Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxeuaarijuE

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) has been asked by the World Bank to support them in the promotion of business resilience and training courses for SME’s in Iraq.

The driver behind this initiative is to give Iraqi SME’s support to ride out and survive the business effects of COVID-19 pandemic and the effect it has particularly on the smaller businesses in the economy.

The support is in the form of four free business training courses that SME’s can take via Webex or Youtube, provided they sign up.

As a partner to the World Bank, IBBC is contacting our Chambers of Commerce and Union contacts, and those businesses we can alert.

The courses cover four topics :

  1. Business Planning.
  2. Accessing Finance.
  3. Communicating.
  4. Thriving.

We recognise that your suppliers are most likely to be already well prepared, but if there are some who may be finding the current economic climate challenging, these courses will provide a good sense check to best practice.

Please follow this link for the WebEx how-to manual in English

Please follow this link for the WebEx how-to manual in Arabic

Please let us know if there are any further questions by contacting london@webuildiraq.org

We very much hope that your teams will be able to share these courses with your supplier and business ecology.

(Source: IBBC)

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$10m USAID contribution for COVID-19 in Iraq

Timely $10 million USAID contribution protects more communities against COVID-19 outbreak

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed over US$10 million recently to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq, allowing the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to scale-up its response to the pandemic into three additional governorates.

The funds – pledged under UNDP’s Funding Facility for Stabilization for activities implemented in partnership with the Government of Iraq – will be used to rehabilitate healthcare facilities and provide medical equipment and furniture to hospitals in the originally-identified priority locations of Basra, Duhok, Karbala, Kirkuk, Najaf, and Ninewa, as well as three additional areas: Babil, Dhi Qar and Maysan.

Funding will also be used to rehabilitate the East Mosul Medical Fluid Factory – one of the largest in Iraq, and a critical source of medical supplies to government hospitals, primary healthcare centres and pharmacies. The factory was severely damaged in the ISIL conflict.

“The steep rise in COVID-19 cases detected over the past few weeks is gravely concerning and shows that the virus has not yet reached its peak in Iraq,” says Resident Representative of UNDP Iraq, Zena Ali Ahmad.

“USAID’s generous contribution comes at exactly the right time, allowing us to target even more communities by expanding our geographical scope to an additional three underserved governorates. As our biggest donor, we’re extremely grateful for USAID’s continued dedication to putting vulnerable communities first, and leaving no-one behind,” she adds.

“The United States is proud to support this work to combat COVID-19 and assist the people of Iraq; this work will directly support citizens throughout the country to get the high-quality treatment they need to fight coronavirus,” said Dana Mansuri, USAID Mission Director.

USAID joins Belgium, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands and Sweden as key partners supporting UNDP Iraq’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Source: UN)

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Sida funds UNFPA COVID-19 response with $1.73m

The Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) contributed SEK 16 million (approximately US$ 1.73 million) to UNFPA response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq.

UNFPA launched in May its COVID-19 response plan for Iraq seeking US$ 1.7 million to meet the needs of women and girls across Iraq.The funds will allow UNFPA to scale up COVID-19 interventions to ensure that women and girls, especially pregnant women and survivors of gender-based violence, including those in quarantine, have timely and safe access to health and protection services.

UNFPA will also provide the Ministry of Health reproductive health supplies, including modern contraceptives and maternal health medicines as well as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

“I am very pleased to announce the agreement signed today between the Swedish International Development Agency and UNFPA in support of its COVID-19 response plan for Iraq. This contribution of SEK 16 million aims to protect women and girls to safe access to health and protection at a much needed time,” said Mr Lars Ronnås (pictured), Ambassador of Sweden to Iraq, during the online signature of the grant today.

“Sweden will support five strategic interventions identified by the UNFPA including to protect pregnant women and survivors of gender-based violence. To ensure equal protection and rights for women is an important part of Sweden’s development cooperation,” he elaborated.

“UNFPA Iraq will continue to engage the community in awareness campaigns and ensure that women and girls have access to life-saving, multi-sectoral services. These activities will help to curb the spread of COVID-19,” commented Dr Oluremi Sogunro, UNFPA Representative to Iraq.

“We are grateful for Sweden’s commitment to women and girls in Iraq through their trust and partnership with UNFPA in Iraq. We have reached thousands of women thanks to this partnership,” he added.

Sida has been a reliable partner to UNFPA during the humanitarian crises in Iraq since 2016 providing more than SEK 140 million to UNFPA humanitarian programmes in Iraq.

(Source: UN)

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World Bank’s Neman: ‘Critical Time’ as Iraq

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

After months of anti-government protests and political uncertainty, Iraq is now grappling with its worst fiscal crisis in decades.

The country’s economy and state budget are heavily reliant on oil income, and have been hit hard by the sharp decline in global oil prices.

The World Bank has projected Iraq’s GDP to contract by 9.7 percent, with the fiscal deficit expected to reach almost 30 percent of GDP. Iraq’s newly appointed government, led by Mustafa al-Kadhimi, is now faced with a challenging task of implementing long-overdue structural reforms, such as reducing public sector employment while also keeping popular unrest at bay.

But what are the root causes of the current economic crisis and what needs to be done to tackle it? And how can the new government overcome entrenched political interests that oppose reform while also winning over a public that has lost all trust in the political establishment?

Ramzi Neman, the World Bank’s special representative to Iraq, talks to Al Jazeera:

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Covid-19: KRG makes Masks Mandatory in Public

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chairs meeting on combating new wave of Covid_19

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Wednesday chaired a meeting with the government’s high-level committee on the coronavirus outbreak via video conference.

In the meeting attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, the Minister of Health presented a detailed report on the increasing number of infections and fatalities in the Kurdistan Region due to a recent surge in Covid_19 cases. The Minister of Interior then presented a report on government measures to enforce compliance with the government’s health advice.

Following an exchange of views on how to curb the spread of the disease, the government’s committee on coronavirus made the following decisions:

  1. First: The government’s public health guidance will continue, including quarantine and delivering services to the infected, contacts and tourists. The campaign to spread awareness on the disease and health advice will intensify too.
  2. Second: The committee also decided to make wearing a mask mandatory in public places and institutions. There will be a supply of masks at government institutions for people visiting these places. Violators will be held accountable to the law.
  3. Third: The government will allocate an additional 5 billion Iraqi dinars to fight the pandemic. Health institutions in all provinces and counties can benefit from these funds.
  4. Fourth: The government will facilitate the production of masks and other equipment to ensure high quality and affordable pricing.
  5. Fifth: The Ministry of Health is permitted to expand laboratory services and set necessary mechanisms to diagnose and identify virus patients Ministry teams will continue contact tracing and tracking suspect cases.
  6. Sixth: The Ministries of Health and Interior along with the Department of Foreign Relations were assigned to contact and visit relevant departments in the Iraqi government and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region as well as consulates and international organisations to seek assistance for the fight against the virus.
  7. Seventh: The travel ban between provinces in the Kurdistan Region and between the Kurdistan Region and Iraqi cities will continue, and measures to protect from the virus will toughen amid a recent surge in infections. The Ministries of Peshmerga Affairs and Interior were also assigned to schedule reporting to duty hours in a way to minimise travel and contact, especially for those who commute from other cities to work. The same will apply to employees of other departments, who have to commute to work.

(Source: KRG)