In 2025, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) engaged Integrated Risk Management Associates (IRMA) to review the policy, legal and institutional environment for anticipatory finance in Iraq, in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP/Iraq). The assignment aimed to consolidate existing evidence and map how national laws, strategies, institutions and financing mechanisms enabled or constrained funding for pre‑disaster early action, preparedness measures and anticipatory action.
IRMA’s work was aligned with ongoing UN anticipatory action initiatives in Iraq, including WFP’s operational efforts and the UN system‑wide offer linked to Iraq’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) revision and National Adaptation Plan processes. The review combined structured analysis of national legislation, policies and plans with consultations planned with government ministries, UN agencies, NGOs, civil society, academia and the private sector.
The assignment produced an institutional and legal analysis of anticipatory finance in Iraq, drafted inputs for NAP and NDC chapters on early warning and anticipatory action, and developed a two‑page “Anticipatory Finance Iraq Snapshot” summarising key findings and recommendations for national authorities and partners. Running from March to August 2025, this work contributed to UNDRR’s global anticipatory finance offer, which supports countries to identify financing solutions that enable earlier, risk‑informed action before disasters strike.
For more information on anticipatory finance beyond Iraq: see also Brazil, Guatemala, Burkina Faso Snapshots and Niger Report and Snapshot.
IRMA’s team for this assignment comprised Lezlie Morinière and Ambre Caillot.
Photo by Levi Meir Clancy on Unsplash
