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French-German Cooperation in Iraq: 15 Million Euros Grant provided by France to Strengthen Water and Sanitation Services in the Dohuk Governorate

Une subvention de 15 millions d’euros pour améliorer les services de l’eau et de l’assainissement en Irak
Station de pompage des eaux du lac du barrage de Mossoul, gouvernorat de Dohuk © GIZ

On August 3rd, the French Development Agency and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH signed a 15 million euros grant agreement for a project that will strengthen water and sanitation services in the Dohuk Governorate in Iraq. The project is part of Germany’s ConNex program, financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development with 26 million euros to support improved access to health, education and water.

Currently, populations across Iraq have inadequate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Furthermore, the situation has been worsened by the current security, political and economic situation in the country. 

The project is part of the approach developed by AFD to optimize the impact of its actions in contexts of chronic crisis, which is the case of Iraq. The observation made by the majority of institutional actors is that the internally displaced and refugee populations residing in the governorate of Dohuk, inside or outside the camps, will stay in Dohuk in the medium term. The emergency measures which led to the establishment of the camps must then be reviewed by planning for the long term, taking into account environmental issues. Water and sanitation services, impacted by a massive influx of people and requiring increased human and financial resources, are at the heart of these challenges.

"Through this project, we will contribute to strengthen the capacity of public authorities to provide an efficient public service to the benefit of host communities, displaced persons and refugees in the governorate of Dohuk. This is one of AFD's strategic priorities in Iraq", commented Luc Le Cabellec, AFD Director for Jordan and Iraq.

This project is part of the Minka Middle East Initiative, through which AFD has contributed since 2017 to reducing Iraq's fragilities and supporting its reconstruction.

Project contact: Frédéric Turlin