Ensuring Longevity: A Look at Strategies for Enduring Existence
Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq, has taken significant strides in its recovery following its liberation from ISIS in 2017. The city's airport, heavily damaged during the battle, has been restored and officially reopened in July 2025 by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.
The airport, now equipped with a main terminal, a VIP lounge, an advanced radar surveillance system, and capable of handling 630,000 passengers annually, is expected to become fully operational for domestic and international flights within two months. This development marks a key step in reconnecting Mosul to other Iraqi cities and regional destinations.
In addition to the airport's restoration, efforts have been made to rebuild Mosul's cultural heritage and historical sites, as about 80% of the city's monuments and cultural structures were ruined by conflict. While significant progress has been made, the scars of occupation and war remain visible.
The rebuilding process in Mosul is a complex and ongoing recovery, involving infrastructure rehabilitation such as the airport reopening and restoration of cultural heritage, supported by government initiatives and international cooperation since the defeat of ISIS in the city in 2017.
Various demographics are involved in planning the activities, aiming to reduce tensions between different local population groups. Displaced people, for instance, need education and employment opportunities. To address this, projects are focused on the areas that were liberated from IS in 2015, providing agricultural trainings, hygiene education campaigns, and waste management improvements.
Some project participants receive support with the development of business models and resources to start their own agricultural businesses. Access to clean water is a major problem in many areas in Northern Iraq, and Welthungerhilfe is addressing this issue by providing emergency water, repairing and overhauling water lines, and improving sanitation facilities in schools and health centers.
The strain on the population is significant due to the lack of food, drinking water, sanitation facilities, basic medical care, clothing, and blankets. Tens of thousands of people can return to regions retaken from IS, including the areas surrounding Nineveh and Mosul.
Aid measures are already underfunded, but organisations like Welthungerhilfe and GIZ continue to support returnees and remaining residents in the province of Nineveh with Cash for Work measures, focusing on infrastructure rehabilitation.
The Iraqi Prime Minister declared Mosul as liberated from ISIS on the 9th of June. The projects aim to promote and restore social peace between various demographic groups, and the focus of the projects is on improving the living conditions of returnees, displaced people, and Syrian refugees in the northern part of the province of Nineveh.
Institutional donors for the projects include GIZ, BMZ, Federal Foreign Office, WFP, among others. The reopening of Mosul's airport and the ongoing rebuilding efforts are significant milestones in the city's journey towards recovery and peace.
The reopening of Mosul's airport, a vital step in connecting Mosul to other cities and destinations, is not only a milestone in the city's recovery from war and conflicts, but also an indication of progress in the political and general news landscape of Iraq. Simultaneously, efforts to rebuild Mosul's cultural heritage and historical sites, along with the provision of agricultural trainings, hygiene education, and sanitation improvements, are crucial steps towards addressing the nutritional, social, and economic needs of the city's population.
