Local Area Development Programme (LADP)

The objective of this project is to improve living conditions and contribute to sustainable poverty reduction in three selected areas in Iraq (Sulaymaniyah, Babyl and the southern Marshlands).

Iraq has experienced a tumultuous recent history that has resulted in a situation of economic and social devastation. Local governments are weak and lack the capacity and resources to deliver services and maintain basic infrastructure. Vulnerable groups (i.e. minorities, women, youth, internally displaced persons, the disabled and the poor) are marginalized and social problems, such as gender inequality and sectarian conflict, are widespread. Despite high levels of growth in 2005, there is a need for targeted policies and programmes designed at improving the employment growth in Iraq. There are also gender considerations, such as women’s participation in the labour market which is largely concentrated in the public sector. Women’s participation in the economic process is also affected by several factors, including violence and social constraints.

Objectives

The objective of this project is to improve living conditions and contribute to sustainable poverty reduction in three selected areas in Iraq (Sulaymaniyah, Babyl and the southern Marshlands). The programme:
  • Strengthens the abilities of local governments in three areas in the North, the Center, and the South to prepare and implement district development plans.
  • Stimulates local economic development and generates short-term and sustainable long-term employment.

Expected results

The LADP is a joint programme that mobilises the capacities of seven UN agencies to provide a multi-sectoral integrated response to challenges in three selected areas in Iraq. As part of the Programme, ILO will support the achievement of the following results:
  • Multisectoral, strategic district development plans that are human-rights based and gender-sensitive, will have been developed and adopted by local authorities and stakeholders, assisted by a team of UN agencies
  • The local business environment for small businesses in the three targeted areas will have improved
  • New small enterprises and cooperatives will have been established in the three targeted areas.