Iraq's reconstruction and the challenges ahead

An international donor conference opened in Kuwait on Monday with hopes of rebuilding Iraq following its devastating war against ISIL. We discuss Iraq's reconstruction efforts in this week's edition of Beyond the Headlines. The conference brings together 70 countries, aid groups, UN agencies and corporations aimed at investing in Iraq's crippled economy, infrastructure and humanitarian crisis. Host Mina Aldroubi is joined by Dr Renad Mansour, senior research fellow at London’s Chatham House, to discuss the challenge of rebuilding and its implication for Iraq’s ability to seal the peace and prevent ISIL from reemerging. Decades of violence have left 4 million Iraqi children in desperate need of immediate humanitarian help. Juliette Touma, UNICEF’s regional chief of communications in the Middle East and North Africa, discusses how vital it is for Iraq to get the necessary funds to invest in children in order to break the cycle of violence. Also, Dr Fanar Haddad explains how western powers are suffering from scepticism and donor fatigue and after years of turmoil in the region. Hopes are now resting on Gulf Arab states to step forward for Iraq. Follow Beyond the Headlines and the rest of our shows on Apple Podcasts.