Amman, 29th Sep - October 2nd 2012: Integration the National Strategy for Combating Violence Against Women in the Sectoral Plans
UNFPA-Iraq organized a training workshop with the collaboration of the Center of Arab Women for Training and Research (CWTAR) to support the capacity of the Iraqi institutions to integrate the national strategy of CVAW in the sectoral plans. The meeting was attended by number of Iraq experts from the universities, Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Kurdistan High Council for Women’s Affairs.
During the workshop the participants discussed the priorities of developing the action plans for the main five sectors (the Women's Affairs, Health, Labor and Social Affairs, Education and the Interior Sectors) and the ability to integrate the objectives of CVAW strategy at the federal and regional levels. The workshop adopted interactive working groups and presentations were made by the participants. UNFPA will follow up with the experts to develop the plans and then to be reviewed by CWTAR before presenting the final draft to be endorsed by the concerned ministries.
Supporting the Implementation of Iraq Poverty Mapping and Maternal Mortality Survey (I-PMM)
As part of UNFPA support to capacity building in Census and Large Scale surveys project in Iraq, it is working currently with other international partners on launching Iraq Poverty Mapping and Maternal Mortality Survey (I-PMM). The need to work on this survey stems from the necessity to updated Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in Iraq that was 84 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2007, and the fact that although national poverty rate is being measured through IHSES-II survey, there is no mapping of poverty in Iraq that shows its poorest villages and communities. Therefore, the survey will work on bridging these information gaps and will collect information on demographic characteristics, migration, and victimization through a sample of more than 300,000 households distributed in all Iraq governorates and districts.
The national partners of this survey are the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) and the National Committee for Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Migration and Displacement and Ministry of Justice. On the other hand, the international parterres include the World Bank, WHO, UNICEF, UNODC, IOM and IAU.
In order to proceed with the survey implementation, UNFPA Chief Technical Advisor carried out a mission to Baghdad in August 2012 and met with the main national partners of this survey represented by the CSO and the National Committee for Poverty Reduction. As a result, UNFPA organized a technical workshop in Erbil on 22-24 September with CSO and Kurdistan Regional Statistical Office (KRSO) and all the other national and international partners mentioned above. This workshop was concluded with finalizing the survey questionnaire, sample design and Plan of Action to start the field work of the survey in December 2012.
Training Youth Peer Educators:
Erbil, 30 Sep – 4 October 2012: UNFPA with the collaboration of START Organization have successfully trained twenty-nine youth participants in Erbil to become peer educators. Through this energetic training, the participants were provided with tools to become highly skilled peer educators.
The Training was based on dividing the participants into two groups to focus on finding a common ground between youth and parents/elders and the ways that manages the youth to deal with issues of conflict and violence. The trainers were met with high levels of participation, enthusiasm and interest from all of the youth.
UNFPA / Iraq: Youth participation and youth friendly health services:
UNFPA conducted two workshops 15 -18 and 19 -22 September 2012 in Erbil on youth participation among programmes managers and focal points from PHCCs with YFHS units.
Youth participation is essential to enhance demanding and utilization for friendly services, meanwhile UNFPA foreword to build solid communication between MoH and youth society respectively by group of youth selected according to defined criteria.
The 4 working days workshops aimed to let the youth gain new skills regarding partnership, communication, events managements and IEC testing.
An advisory panel from youth was composed and action plan structured on activity basses, work plan monitored by AUB expertise and validated by MoH representatives.
Kickoff the implementation phase to reform the Iraq National Statistical System
Erbil- Iraq on 2 September 2012, Central Statistical Organization (CSO) and Kurdistan Regional Statistical Office (KRSO) organized with support from UNFPA Iraq the kickoff meeting for the implementation phase of Iraq Public Sector Modernization (national statistical system) jointly implemented by Government of Iraq and the United Nations. The meeting was attended by national experts and the committees’ members assigned by CSO, KRSO and the line ministries to take the responsibility of reform implementation such as the higher reform committee, legal committee, ICT committee, data exchange, dissemination, and statistical polices. The meeting was also attended by advisors from UNFPA and GOPA Worldwide Consultants who were selected to provide technical assistance for the implementation phase. The meeting discussed and endorsed the roadmap for the upcoming 19 months of reform plan, technical support methodology as well as the plan of action.
