Iraq Population Council issues six recommendations, including higher loan limits for women

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Higher Population Council, chaired by Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaydi, adopted six recommendations at its first session, the Prime Minister's Press Office said. The session was attended by the ministers of education, labor, water resources, youth and sports, and environment, along with the council's secretary general, a representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government and heads of various institutions. The council reviewed the outcomes of the seventh regular session of the Arab Council for Population and Development held in Baghdad, as well as work carried out by the National Population Policies Committee. It recommended evaluating the family planning strategy by 2030, expanding health centers providing family planning services in rural areas, and reducing maternal and child mortality rates. The council also called on the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to raise the upper limit on loans provided to women, streamline lending procedures, and establish a fund to support small women-led projects. Additionally, members agreed to adopt the results of the 2024 general population and housing census as the primary database for all ministries and to set up a standing higher committee to monitor demographic change. No further details were immediately available on the implementation timeline.