Over the last three decades, Iraq has been facing a growing pressure on water resources and increase in the frequency and severity of droughts. This is attributed to a joint impact of damming and upstream excessive use of water, climate change, and inefficient use of water at national scale. The initiative brings together key stakeholders, including government agencies, local communities, and international experts, to identify vulnerabilities, assess risks, and design adaptive strategies tailored to Iraq’s diverse ecosystems and socio-economic landscape. The initiative aimed to develop a National Drought Risk Management Framework (NDRMF), which was successfully completed and handed over to the MoWR in May 2025.