WHH in Iraq
Our Profile
For a world in which all people, regardless of gender, age or religious affiliation, can live a self-determined life in dignity and justice, free from hunger and poverty. We work across all aspects of rehabilitation and provide assistance to vulnerable war-affected Iraqis in a dignified manner. In line with our global strategy to achieve “sustainable food and nutrition security” for the most vulnerable, we fight for our common goal: “Zero Hunger wherever we work by 2030“. Welthungerhilfe (WHH) focuses on economic development in disadvantaged areas to strengthen the resilience of internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities. We invest in collaboration and the empowerment of civil society and place women, youth and persons with disabilities at the center of our work.
What We Do
In close collaboration with international and local partners and authorities, WHH empowers people to break out of hunger and poverty, with measurable impact, integrity and accountability. In 2019 alone, WHH directly supported more than 18,000 people (209,627 individuals indirectly) – men, women, and children in villages and towns across the districts of Sinjar, Tel Afar, Tel Kaif, Mosul, Al-Hamdaniya in Ninewa Governorate, as well as Tikrit, Sammara, Baaj in Salah Al-Din. At the same time, our projects expand further to Kirkuk governorate and Duhok, Erbil and Sulaimaniyah in Kurdistan Region.
Our Work in Iraq
31,982
people reached in Humanitarian Assistance in 2023
10,379
people reached in Agriculture and Environment in 2023
6,366
people reached in Economic Development in 2023
From Emergency Action to Recovery and Resilience
WHH aims to strengthen humanitarian action and link it with development. We work across all aspects of rehabilitation, including the basic reconstruction of service centers and social infrastructure, such as implementing Cash for Work project activities as a means of providing communities with emergency assistance in a dignified manner, as well as rehabilitation, involving employment generation and job creation, therefore directly contributing to economic development and thus strengthening resilience. At WHH, we place women at the center of our work by both supporting them within our teams and by ensuring that protection strategies are incorporated into our programming to make it relevant and accessible to vulnerable women.
News from Iraq
WHH Iraq Focus Areas:
The following program areas link our focus areas with the fight against hunger and poverty: Humanitarian Action; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH); Agriculture and Environment; Climate Change and Natural Resource Management, and Economic Development.
HUMANITARIAN ACTION
In Iraq, through our Cash for Work activities, we rehabilitate public and private basic infrastructure such as water treatment plants, pump stations and water networks. To be as inclusive as possible, we provide unconditional cash assistance to reach people with disabilities, vulnerable women and youth with limited employment opportunities.
Protection relates to the safety, dignity and rights of people affected by disaster or armed conflict and has become an additional focus of our project activities in Iraq. Our protection teams assist people in need through interventions to help them understand their rights. Furthermore, we hold awareness-raising sessions on relevant topics such as trauma prevention, early marriage, child labor and basic human rights.
WHH developed an emergency preparedness plan and set up a local emergency response team to reduce the humanitarian impact of humanitarian crises and disasters in a timely, effective, consistent and coordinated manner.
WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH)
Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is a human right and a prerequisite for fighting hunger and poverty. Our WASH projects are primarily located in the rural areas of Ninewa Governorate.
These projects improve large-scale water and sanitation infrastructure and focus on rehabilitating small-scale public WASH facilities. Additionally, WHH works closely with local authorities and provides capacity building trainings.
Through household and community-level awareness-raising sessions, we promote good practices on health and hygiene, including menstrual management and awareness for girls at schools.
AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
Hunger is most prevalent in remote regions where people typically draw their food and livelihoods from the natural environment.
In Iraq, we support returnees and vulnerable host community members in their ability to effectively work in agriculture. WHH empowers communities to help themselves on a long-term basis, using market-based approaches that enable people to continue earning a living from their agricultural products.
Through providing agricultural, resource-efficient and modern farming training, we seek to empower rural families to achieve sustainable food and nutrition.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Currently, WHH Iraq is introducing renewable energy to the agricultural sector to improve production in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. At the same time, we introduce various communities to climate change, through better water management and introduction to drip irrigation, hydroponics and rain harvesting.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Acknowledging the complexity of eradicating hunger and poverty, WHH encourages economic development and education to tackle the causes of hunger and poverty in a sustainable manner.
Through market-based approaches, agricultural project participants can restart their production and yield surpluses can be sold for profit. Economies are further boosted through the establishment and re-establishment of businesses in the project areas, while unemployed youth are engaged through apprenticeship programs to increase their skills and employability post-apprenticeship.
Our economic development activities include:
- Provision of grants for local business owner and start-ups
- Business management training for grant recipients
- Democratic processes and conflict
- Apprenticeship training
- Placement of trainees in participating companies
Publications about Iraq
Our Approach
Hunger is one of the biggest problems in the world. But it can be solved. WHH envisions a world in which everyone can lead a self-determined life with dignity and justice, free from hunger and poverty.
WHH’s strategic goal is ‘Zero Hunger wherever we work by 2030’, based on the 2nd UN Sustainable Development Goal. By working closely with local partners, we want to end hunger for good in all the countries we are active in. Our actions are intended to improve the prospects of present and future generations, helping them sustain healthy environments and fair societies.
Approaches to End Hunger in Iraq
We fight against global hunger and for sustainable food security. This includes promoting site-specific agriculture, access to clean water, and environmentally friendly energy supplies while improving health, education and economic development.
WHH’s approach relies not just on specific project activities and political advocacy work, but also measurable results and accountability to partners, donors and people in project areas.
The end of hunger is within reach for the first time in history. Like many of those involved in development cooperation, we hope that one day our work will no longer be necessary. Help us achieve this vision and get involved in the fight for a world without hunger.
Jobs in Iraq and Ongoing Public Tenders
WHH’s country office for Iraq is located in Erbil. The WHH team currently consists of around 150 staff members on the ground. Are you looking for a job that is exciting and has clear goals? Welcome to WHH!
Additionally, you can find all current WHH tenders on our eTender portal.
Contact Information
Welthungerhilfe Iraq
Country Office Erbil - Building (B), Apartment (28)- 6th Floor
4 Towers
Kurdistan Region - Republic of Iraq
Tel: +964 751 740 5565
Email: info.iraq(at)welthungerhilfe.de
