Highly promising figures that the administration cited to demonstrate economic progress in Iraq last fall, when Congress was considering whether to continue financing the war, cannot be substantiated by official Iraqi budget records, the Government Accountability Office reported Tuesday.

The Iraqi government had been severely criticized for failing to spend billions of dollars of its oil revenues in 2006 to finance its own reconstruction, but last September the administration said Iraq had gr more...

The present update is submitted as part of the United Nations' contribution to the nationwide reconstruction and development of Iraq, the UN Country Team (UNCT) in collaboration with the Iraqi Authorities, the private sector and NGO partners. Coordinated through the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the UNCT has employed a 'cluster' approach to its reconstruction and development programmes as presented in the Joint UN-Iraq Assistance Strategy 2005 - 2007. This cluster approach more...

The overview for the World Bank's 2007 World Development has been released. The new report has the theme: Development and the Next Generation. It centres on:

Part I
1 Youth, poverty reduction, and growth
Spotlight: Differing demographics
2 Opportunities, capabilities, second chances:
A framework for policy
Spotlight: A gender fi lter on the youth lens


Part II
Transitions
3 Learning for work and life
Spotlight: Vietnamese youth: Managing prosperity
4 Going to work
Spotlight: Do more...

2004 - This report attempts to examine linkages of important socio-economic concepts of peace and answer the broader question of whether dynamic agricultural development can have an impact on strengthening peace in conflict-prone countries. By Taeb M. (2004) UNU/IAS: Tokyo (PDF).

March 2006 - This paper addresses the application of sustainable livelihood approaches to access to land and land administration in post-conflict situations. FAO Livelihoods Support Programme Working Paper No.18.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) released results on Sept. 28, 2004, of an unprecedented survey in Iraq which concludes that some 6.5 million people – 25 percent of the entire population – remain highly dependent on food rations and are therefore vulnerable. According to WFP’s Baseline Food Security Assessment, the first of its kind in Iraq, of these 6.5 million people, some 2.6 million are so poor that they have to resell part of their food rations to buy basic necessities su more...

Information on the program that Development Alternatives, Inc. is leading in Iraq to restore one of the largest and most important wetlands in the world.

The US Dept. of Agriculture maintains a website devoted to rebuilding agriculture and food security in Iraq. It contains a Frequently Asked Questions section, which includes questions about the UN Oil-for-Food Program, as well as news about US aid for agriculture reconstruction in Iraq.

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has opened a new Press Clipping feature on its web portal. Daily press clippings from Arabic Media Monitoring Service and Revue de Presse can be viewed (read only) on this site. Access to press coverage from the Arabic world, translated into English, is particularly worthwhile in assessing regional response to Iraq.

This is the link to the index of weekly newsletter updates (pdf format) about USAID activities supporting humanitarian and reconstruction work in Iraq. All materials are in Arabic as well as English. The most recent newsletter is dated March 30, 2004.