Since early 2003, telephone subscriptions in Iraq have increased almost four-fold, rising from 1.2 million land lines to 4.6 million land and cell lines.

USAID is helping strengthen essential primary health care services throughout Iraq. USAID-supported emergency campaigns in 2005 alone immunized 98% of children between 1-5 years old (3.62 million) against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and 97% of children under five (4.56 million) against polio. USAID partners have trained 11,400 staff at over 2,000 community-based centers in almost every province to managing malnutrition in children. Over 600 primary health care centers have been provided with ‘clinic in a box’ kits of key equipment and furniture; over 2,500 primary health care workers have been trained to expand the availability of essential primary health care services to children under five.

Assistance has helped Iraq move away from rote learning methodology in decrepit, unsanitary classrooms to interactive learning in rehabilitated buildings. Since 2003, USAID has rehabilitated nearly 3,000 schools. Over 20 million new textbooks have been supplied by USAID (8.6 million) and UNESCO (12 million). By 2006, more than 133,000 primary school teachers – a third of Iraq’s educators – will have received training and technical assistance. Already, the most recent primary school enrollment numbers show a 19 percent increase from pre-war levels.

In 2002, Baghdad had access to electricity 24 hours a day; the rest of Iraq was limited to 3-6 hours of electricity daily. Currently, all 18 governorates receive roughly 13 hours of electricity daily on average, an incredible improvement for a country emerging from decades of conflict and neglect. USAID programs have added over 1,200 MW of new or rehabilitated generation capacity to the national grid, increasing availability to over 4 million Iraqis. Access to electricity – powering hospitals, machinery, and homes – improves the lives of ordinary Iraqis and enables local business and industries to take succeed.

Returned to pre-war daily generation levels of 3,958 MW by October 2003 and reached a peak of 4,584 MW during July 2004.

USAID has rehabilitated sewage treatment plants, expanding access to sewage treatment to over 4.4 million urban Iraqis, processing 339.7 million gallons daily. Over 4 million Iraqis who had no clean drinking water in 2002 now have safe, potable water piped to their homes following USAID efforts to refurbish and expand 19 water treatment plants in five cities. Providing clean water and efficient sewage treatment has greatly improved sanitation and contributed to a decrease in waterborne disease. USAID is also providing plant-level operations and maintenance (O&M) training at major water and wastewater plants nationwide to ensure that these plants remain functioning. By December of 2006, USAID and implementing partners will restore water treatment service to 8.1 million Iraqis, and sewerage treatment service to 8.8 million.