The “curse” of Iraq’s bounties turns it into a poor country

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[size=52]The “curse” of Iraq’s bounties turns it into a poor country[/size]

[size=45]The Ministry of Planning confirms its intention to prepare a strategy to reduce deprivation[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.][/size]

[size=45]Iraq ranked 8th in the Arab world and 79th globally among the world's poorest people (Reuters)[/size]


[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ranked   79th in the world among the world’s  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  , despite the capabilities and wealth that are considered a “blessing” owned by Mesopotamia, but it has become a curse on Iraqis as a result of the economic deterioration and the wrong policies pursued by successive governments, the rampant corruption in the joints of the state and the failure to activate the private sector, where the poverty rate rose to Higher levels than before, according to the American magazine "Global Finance", while the Iraqi Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation expected the poverty rate in the country to rise to 25 percent during the current year 2022, after it recorded 22.5 percent in the last census of 2019.[/size]
[size=45]The magazine said in a report, that “the poorest countries in the world suffered from civil wars and ethnic and sectarian conflicts, then the Corona virus came, which made the bad conditions worse,” noting that “the world possesses enough wealth and resources to ensure that the entire human race enjoys a  basic [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] of living.” .[/size]
[size=45]"However, people in countries such as Burundi, South Sudan and Central African Republic - the poorest in the world - continue to live in extreme poverty," she added.[/size]
[size=45]And the magazine indicated, according to a table prepared for this, that "Iraq ranked 8th in the Arab world and 79th globally out of 192 countries listed in the table among the poorest peoples in the world, as the Iraqi per capita GDP amounted to 12,141 thousand dollars annually."[/size]
[size=45]Income improvement strategy[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, the Ministry of Planning revealed its intention to prepare a strategy to improve the income and livelihood of poor families, while confirming the imminent launch of the largest economic and social survey.[/size]
[size=45]The spokesman for the Ministry of Planning, Abdul-Zahra Al-Hindawi, said in a press statement that "the ministry is preparing, in coordination and cooperation with a group of ministries and institutions, including the ministries of commerce, labor and social affairs, to prepare the third poverty reduction strategy in Iraq for the years 2024-2028."[/size]
[size=45]He added that "the goal of the strategy is to improve the standard of living for people with low incomes, which focuses on two axes, the first: reconsidering and evaluating the social protection network so as to ensure that it reaches those who are eligible for the benefit, and re-examining the poverty line in order to ensure that support reaches poor families."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the second axis focuses on reforming the ration card system and working with the Ministry of Commerce with the aim of allocating this program to poor families while reconsidering those covered, as many of them are well-off, and it is first for these materials to go to poor families."[/size]
[size=45]"The strategy also aims to improve the income and standard of living of poor families through other pathways related to education, health and housing," he added.[/size]
[size=45]He stressed that “from this framework, the Ministry of Planning is preparing to launch one of the largest economic and social surveys in Iraq, and soon the work of this survey will be launched, which will give us very important indicators about the poverty level, the poverty line, the living standard of the poor and their areas of concentration, and then we will use the outcomes of this survey and its indicators in writing a strategy poverty that is currently being prepared.”[/size]
[size=45]Fighting poverty is a difficult task [/size]
[size=45]In addition, the economic researcher, Bassam Raad, believes that despite the huge financial resources derived from oil revenues, which exceeded 72 billion dollars during the past seven months of this year, unemployment rates rose to 16.5 percent, which represents the percentage of the unemployed labor force. Poverty rates reach 25 percent of the population, according to some estimates, which indicates that we are living in a very critical stage.”[/size]
[size=45]He points out that “fighting poverty in Iraq will be a difficult task, as it has become an absolute necessity, and work should be done to end poverty in all its forms and work to promote sustainable development while ensuring decent education and educational opportunities and working to promote comprehensive sustainable economic growth, productive employment and decent work for all, and this requires reform In addition to eliminating manifestations of administrative and financial corruption, administrative and financial corruption is one of the most important problems that the country suffers from, and it greatly hinders policies to reduce poverty and unemployment rates.”[/size]
[size=45]Raad believed that a rapid reduction in poverty rates is possible by supporting the components of the ration card and increasing the amounts of social care for vulnerable groups that suffer from unemployment and poverty. Otherwise, the poverty map in the country will expand, which portends serious social risks that threaten the unity and safety of society.[/size]
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