The Iraq Community Action Program: USAID's Agreement with CHF Met Goals, but Greater Oversight Is Needed
Abstract
Since 2003, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has obligated about $675 million to non-government organizations to implement the Community Action Program (CAP) in Iraq. A key USAID Mission Iraq (USAID/Iraq) 1 program, the CAP works in rural and urban communities to promote grass-roots democracy and local governance. It accomplishes these goals by facilitating the creation and training of community action groups (CAGs) that are responsible for identifying and prioritizing community needs, mobilizing community resources to translate those needs into projects, and monitoring project implementation. The CAP aims to foster direct citizen involvement in the rehabilitation of Iraq, enabling Iraqis to address local needs. The Iraq CAP was implemented in phases by several partners selected by USAID, including the Cooperative Housing Foundation International (CHF). USAID entered into cooperative agreements with these partners and provided them funds to implement the CAP in different regions of the country. Of the $675 million obligated for the entire Iraq CAP to date, CHF received approximately $276 million, a portion of which CHF passed on to other implementing partners during phase two of the program. Because of the size of CHF's funding and the importance of the CAP in USAID's overall strategy to help build a stable, democratic, and prosperous Iraq, SIGIR conducted this audit of USAID/Iraq's oversight and CHF's implementation of the CAP.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 28, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA545377
Entities
Organizations
- Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction