World Bank Mulls Iraq Shift as Aid Funds Languish

Hundreds of millions of dollars in global aid to Iraq is not being used, prompting the World Bank to consider closing education and other programs in the country, says the Associated Press.

More than a third of the $1.3-billion the bank and its donor nations have committed since 2004 to support schools, health and social services, and other programs has never been spent, in part due to contracting issues and bureaucratic obstacles. Given Iraq’s oil wealth and pressing needs elsewhere, the global lender is considering whether to extend the deadline for several programs set to close at the end of June.

“When we talk with the [Iraqi] government, when we talk to the primary stakeholders in the country, we try to explain to them that it is a pity that this money is just sitting where it is and it is not being utilized,” said Marie-Helene Bricknell, the bank’s special representative for Iraq. “It may difficult for us to argue [to keep the funds in Iraq] if Africa needs the money or if there is another food crisis in the world.”