Social Protection and Safety Nets in Iraq

Social protection is a component of socioeconomic development that is founded on principles of human rights, and the inherent right of humans to live a decent, prosperous life that is free from deprivation, marginalization and exclusion. The Iraqi state took an interest in providing humanitarian aid, insurance, and security to vulnerable social categories and issued a number of laws aimed at protecting them, especially those who were working in its organizations and institutions. The state was also keen on the horizontal and vertical expansion of the system, by expanding the categories covered by social protection and inclusion of a greater number of risks covered by protection and social security systems.

Attempts were made to expand the scope of protection for workers in the private sector, in addition to the establishment of a greater number of welfare centres. Also, trade unions established their own social security funds for their members. As part of the framework of a cooperation agreement between the Office of the World Food Program Regional in Cairo (WFP OMC) and the Centre for Social Protection (CSP) at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), this report comes within a series of reports on social protection in countries of North Africa and the Middle East. The report focuses on linkages between social protection and food security. It is expected to contribute to the development of WFP’s social protection strategy for the region.