Iraq is not only vulnerable to the external policies of its neighbouring countries sharing the same water resources, but is also affected severely by global warming and environment changes. This presents challenges in the form of drought caused by significantly decreased rainfall particularly during the last two years, and desertification. According to the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), Iraq received only 30% of expected rainfall in 2008. Low regional rainfall also affects water levels in the upstream parts of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and, therefore, has further reduced water discharge volume to Iraq, contributing to desertification. Although use of improved sanitation facilities is relatively high, at 92%, substantial numbers of people report problems with functionality of the sewage system, due to lack of proper maintenance systems. Problems of sanitation have already started to occur in the Tigris and Euphrates due to untreated sewage disposal, which ultimately will lead to sever river water pollution, with a ratio of about three times the acceptable level. Only as little as 17% of sewage generated in Iraq is treated with the rest let out largely untreated into rivers and waterways, polluting surface water and the environment at large. An increase in pollution levels in water bodies including increased salinity levels is forecasted for the coming years. According to IHSES 2007, over 24 million Iraqis, or 80% of the population, did not treat their water before drinking. Water was chemically treated for only 735,000 of Iraq’s 30million citizens, representing barely 2.5% of the population. High incidence of diarrhoeal diseases exists due to unsanitary environmental conditions, unsafe water supply and poor hygiene practices (MICS-3 2006); diarrhoea is the leading cause of child mortality in Iraq (Human Development Report 2008).In terms of human capacity, insufficient numbers of government staff are aware of the basic tenets of Integrated Water Resource Management and Climate Change issues, inter alia, including air pollution, water contamination, hazard waste, which have huge bearing on the status of this sector. A lack of a proper human resources management system, sufficient training plans and systematic means for knowledge transfer have also contributed to a dwindling of human capacity. The absence of a comprehensive Iraqi water strategy had resulted in alarming decrease in water availability, and severe deterioration of water quality.