After a two-year hiatus in Iraq, Save the Children has returned and since the end of 2008, built up a presence in northern Iraq. Working with a partner — Mercy Corps — the organization has set up an office in the north of Iraq to support the psychosocial care of children in the districts of Sulaimaniyah and Kalar (Sulaimaniyah governorate) and Khanaqueen (Diyala governorate).

In June 2009, Save the Children also began planning to expand programmatic activities into southern parts of Iraq, including Basra, Thi-qar, Muthanna and Missan governorates. In the space of only a few months, Save the Children has set up programs that are producing early results. 

Challenges for Children

Although the violence that followed the invasion of Iraq by multi-national forces in 2003 has ebbed and flowed, Iraq remains within the top five humanitarian emergencies in the world. Children continue to suffer from the psychological trauma of war and conflict, and access to education and development opportunities has been severely constrained.

As an example, in the northern part of Iraq (where Save the Children is currently operating) 15 schools host operations for 43 separate institutions — that is, most schools serve three to four shifts of students per day, for a few hours at a time.  Besides overcrowding, these schools lack a clean water supply, sanitation and garbage disposal systems — as do many of the communities in which the schools are based.

In the south of the country, including Basra, the situation is more acute. In particular, access to fresh water remains a key issue due to the use of a brackish water supply in Basra. Exacerbating the situation, temperatures can reach 140 F during the summer. Because of the salty residue, the water supply needs to go through a complex process of desalinization and purification, which is costly, time consuming and not always effective. It remains another obstacle for children in obtaining a quality education and having a healthy childhood.

Numbers at a Glance

• The under 5 mortality rate per 1000 live births (2003) is 130 (WHO)

• 15 percent of infants have a low birthweight, 2000–2007 (UNICEF)

• 45 percent of births occur outside health institutions (WHO)

Our Response

Child Protection and Education
The Child Protection Program began operations in early 2009, after completing the training of 15 education supervisors from Sulaimaniyah, Khalar and Khanaqeen and the training of 225 teachers of fifteen basic schools (five schools from each of these districts) in the most vulnerable areas of each district. The program focuses on improving Iraqi children's psychosocial skills in the classroom and at home.

From May 2009 onwards, urgent renovation will be completed in nine of the schools to provide a suitable area for these activities to be completed. Two other sub-projects will begin — one a psychosocial project for children who are not in school with nine local NGOs (six already identified), and another aiming to give psychosocial support to parents. 

In-school Psychosocial Activities
Save the Children has continued to work in 15 schools in Sulaimaniyah, Khanaqeen and Khalar governorates, reaching 2,350 children through psychosocial activities. Save the Children has organized Child Wellbeing Days in each of the 15 schools, where approximately 10,000 children (almost half of them girls) participated. The activities include structured psychosocial activities, traditional games and cultural activities that helped enhance understanding and relationships among and between peers and teachers, and helped establish a sense of self-respect and increased self-esteem among children. Save the Children also renovated and resourced five safe spaces in the schools (three in Khanaqeen and two in Kalar). 

Out of School Psychosocial Activities
In order to increase capacity at local/community level for child protection, Save the Children has partnered with six local NGOs to establish out of school safe spaces at nine different locations in Khalar, Khanaqeen and Sulaimaniyah The safe spaces are equipped with toys for the 289 children currently attending them. Save the Children volunteers hold community meetings with parents of those children who are attending the safe spaces in an effort to encourage the parents to play a role and be involved in child protection activities. Save the Children also provides a two-day protection/psychosocial/safe spaces training for staff and partners.

Community Child Rights and Raising Awareness for Child Protection
In partnership with the Iraqi Child Rights Network (ICRN), Save the Children printed 8,000 booklets and 8,000 posters in Arabic and Kurdish to raise awareness on child rights, child protection and positive discipline for parents, teachers and community leaders.

Save the Children has supported the expansion of ICRN which now reaches 17 of the 18 governorates across Iraq and includes 25 new NGOs, bringing the total number of ICRN members to 56 across the 17 governorates. This creates an opportunity for Save the Children in Iraq to accelerate the program expansion to the south and center of Iraq through implementing joint activities with ICRN, especially on awareness raising and advocacy at the national level.  

Plans for the Future

Save the Children will continue program expansion from Basra in the south, and eventually from Baghdad, beginning with establishing focal points in nine community locations to sustain a community network and hold community-based meetings and/or seminars to raise awareness on Child Protection and Child Rights. Save the Children plans to expand its reach to incorporate the agency's successful education and livelihood programs that have been carried out with the Iraqi diaspora in the region.

Save the Children will raise further awareness of its existing programs by printing safe space manuals and distributing them to program areas and by organizing radio and television awareness programs in 13 governorates in partnership with Iraqi Child Rights Network (ICRN). Also, Save the Children is resuming its in-school child protection project in fifteen schools in September 2009. 

From September 2009, major program development will focus on water and sanitation; youth, education and child protection. The main focus area will be the south of Iraq. On a smaller scale, Save the Children aims to continue to expand projects in the north of the country and will open a liaison office in Baghdad.

Last Updated July 2009