Sending children back to school in Iraq

The biggest educational procurement project ever in UNICEF’s history for one single year was the School Project for Iraq in 2004, with the organization supplying educational materials for a value of $31 million. The time frame from initial discussions on the type of supplies required, to the final distribution of the student kits in Iraq, was a mere nine months.

By May 2004, UNICEF and the new, temporary Ministry of Education in Iraq had determined the contents of the school kits for elementary school children, and the overall project design, which also included providing teacher kits, recreational kits, blackboards and chalk. Most of the items were sourced in China, where the suppliers also packed the kits, and final delivery was promised in early December. The total volume of supplies shipped for the project was almost 1,000 40 foot-containers.

All deadlines for final delivery were met. Suppliers kept their promises on delivery times, and on inspection the quality of goods always met the required standards. The freight forwarders and shipping lines gave UNICEF top priority and provided space on very congested vessels out of China. On arrival in port, the school kits were immediately loaded onto trucks and transported directly to 21 governorates all over Iraq, where the supplies were received by UNICEF monitors and staff from the Ministry of Education.

In the case of Iraq, a comprehensive supply management approach - ensuring effective cooperation between suppliers, transport companies, UNICEF and the Government - means that some six million Iraqi children (44 per cent of those girls) had school supplies and could return to school on schedule.