UNDP in Iraq: Rebuilding After ISIS

September 2017 – June 2019

Following the defeat of ISIS in Iraq in July 2017, the country faced the immense challenge of rebuilding communities devastated by years of ISIS rule and the brutal battle to liberate them. Entire neighbourhoods had been reduced to rubble, infrastructure lay in ruins, and millions of Iraqis had been displaced from their homes.

Alongside my photojournalism work, I served as a photography consultant for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Iraq from September 2017 to June 2019. My role was to document the progress and impact of UNDP-funded stabilisation projects in areas heavily affected by ISIS, capturing the human stories behind the country’s recovery.

Travelling across northern and western Iraq, from the shattered streets of Mosul’s Old City to the desert towns of Anbar, I witnessed communities beginning the long process of rebuilding their lives. I met families returning to damaged homes, children attending newly reopened schools, shopkeepers restarting businesses, and young people determined to restore a sense of normality after years of conflict.

During this period, UNDP supported the rehabilitation of essential infrastructure and public services across some of Iraq’s hardest-hit areas, helping communities recover and creating opportunities for displaced families to return home. In newly restored hospitals, I witnessed civilians receiving much-needed medical care that had previously been unavailable, from the birth of a baby delivered by Caesarean section to long-awaited surgeries and specialist treatment. These moments served as powerful reminders that recovery was not only about rebuilding infrastructure, but also about restoring essential services and hope for the future.

What I remember most, however, is the resilience of the people themselves. Again and again, I encountered individuals and families determined to move forward despite everything they had endured. Beyond the visible scars of war, these photographs document a period of recovery, resilience and hope as communities across Iraq worked to rebuild not only their towns and cities, but also their futures.