Crisis overview
Despite dramatic contextual changes, including the change of authorities in December 2024, Syria remains a major humanitarian emergency with some 70 per cent of the population in need of humanitarian assistance. Nevertheless, new developments continue to exacerbate existing needs or create new needs, including sporadic conflict, climatic shocks, and large-scale returns of displaced populations.
Conflict and resulting Displacement: Sporadic hostilities have continued in eastern rural Aleppo, coastal governorates, and parts of the northeast and south. These conditions have triggered new and secondary displacements, exacerbated protection risks, and increased needs across all sectors.
Explosive Ordnance (EO) Threat: Increased population movement has revealed widespread EO contamination. Between December 2024 and October 2025, 1,498 casualties were recorded, double the number from the previous year, with 60 per cent of incidents occurring in agricultural areas, threatening livelihoods and food security.
Sheikh Ahmed,Syria
A woman stands in front of her home where she returned to find her village destroyed and looted after years of displacement.
SARD NGO/ Sheikh AhmedClimatic Shocks: Syria is facing its worst drought-like conditions in 36 years. Crop failures in key regions have reduced wheat and barley yields with FAO projecting a 70 per cent wheat production deficit, which could leave over 16 million people unable to meet their nutritional requirements. The drought-like conditions have also severely impacted the country’s main water resources, affecting access for over 10 million people already struggling to meet basic water needs. Communities are resorting to coping mechanisms such as purchasing costly trucked water, relying on unsafe sources like agricultural wells, or reducing consumption, practices that heighten public health risks, exacerbate malnutrition, and raise protection concerns. In addition, wildfires in mid-2025 further compounded these challenges, causing extensive damage to livelihoods, particularly in agricultural areas, deepening existing vulnerabilities, and worsening food insecurity.
Returns of IDPs and Refugees: Since the change in authorities in 2024, Syria has seen substantial returns of IDPs and refugees. Between 8 December 2024 and 6 November 2025, UNHCR recorded more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees who returned to Syria from neighboring countries and beyond. As of the end of July 2025, preliminary reports indicate that nearly 1.9 million IDPs were estimated to have returned to their home areas since December 2024. Many returnees face substantial challenges, including limited access to essential services, legal documentation issues, and exposure to explosive ordnance (EO) risks. Between January and September 2025, 441 IDP sites, primarily in northwest and northeast Syria, were deactivated due to returns, underscoring both the scale of movement and the urgent need for coordinated support to ensure safe and dignified reintegration. There has also been a significant reduction in the population of Al Hol camp, primarily due to the repatriation of Iraqi nationals, along with some third-country nationals, and the return of Syrian nationals. The camp’s population dropped by 41 per cent from 45,362 to about 26,000 at the end of October 2025.
Escalating Public Health Risks and Strained Health Infrastructure: Public health risks in Syria remain high, marked by rising cases of influenza-like illnesses, acute diarrhea, and lice infestations. At the same time, significant gaps in routine childhood immunization persist.
Response priorities and financial requirements for 2026
The Syria Humanitarian Country Team is using 2025 planning figures for the GHO 2026, which will be updated once the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is finalized. Key assessments expected in mid-December will inform updated PiN, targets and funding needs. The 2026 response will be shaped by emerging trends and evolving needs, with aid directed to where it's most urgently required. Given financial constraints, discussions around prioritization continue to reinforce the commitment to the allocation formula: 50 per cent of resources for areas with severity level 3, and full coverage (100 per cent) for areas with severity levels 4 and 5. However, the data needed to apply this formula is not yet available.
The return of refugees and IDPs may be increasing the number of people in need and may shift both geographic focus and types of support. The overall reduction in conflict, and number of IDP camps/sites, and some initial steps towards advancing development, recovery and economic stabilization, may have some impact on reducing needs. Nevertheless, the scale of the crisis and the impact of the new shocks described above suggest the needs will remain extremely high in 2026.
Dar’a city, Syria
A member of The HALO Trust’s explosive ordnance disposal team prepares an unexploded ordnance device for safe demolition.
The HALO TrustSouthern Governorates: The escalation of hostilities in As-Sweida, with spillover into Dar’a and Rural Damascus, has significantly worsened humanitarian conditions. A new caseload of 492,860 people has been identified as in need of assistance, adding to pre-existing vulnerabilities in these areas. The humanitarian response aims to reach 413,709 people, thereof one-third women and nearly half children, with multisectoral support. To implement this response, $194.8 million is required for the period July–December 2025. These developments are expected to drive increased needs and response figures in 2026.
Coastal Governorates: Humanitarian needs have risen in Lattakia and Tartous following spikes in sectarian violence and wildfires in mid-2025. The fires caused extensive damage to livelihoods, particularly in agricultural areas, compounding existing vulnerabilities. These events are expected to result in higher needs and expanded response targets in 2026.
Explosive Ordnance (EO): Most incidents occur in agricultural and grazing areas, posing serious risks to civilians and undermining food security. This trend is expected to increase protection needs and corresponding response efforts in 2026.
Impact of Drought-like Conditions and Response: Severe drought-like conditions continue to affect large parts of Syria. Of the estimated 8.1 million people impacted, 4.4 million are targeted for assistance through the next harvest season in May/June 2026. In 2025, the response requires $336.4 million, with food assistance, emergency agricultural support, and improved access to WASH services, including measures to strengthen drought resilience, accounting for 61.5 per cent of the total. Given the scale and persistence of the drought-like conditions, humanitarian needs and response figures may rise further in 2026.
Syrian Arab Republic
2025 in review: response highlights and consequences of inaction
Response Highlights
In 2025, the humanitarian community reached an average per month of 3.36 – 32 per cent of the targeted population - with multisectoral assistance, representing an increase of 25 per cent compared to the same period last year. Most assistance prioritized those with the highest severity level of needs (level 4 and 5, 67 per cent). Of 330 active humanitarian organizations, 180 are national NGOs. In the southern governorates, 430,090 people were reached following hostilities in As-Sweida, supported by 62 partners, including 25 national NGOs. Countrywide sectoral highlights include 2.8 million reached with protection services, 985,311 children with education, 499,400 with MPC, and 5.78 million with WASH. Nutrition, food, shelter, health, and CCCM services also reached significant numbers, reflecting broad, coordinated humanitarian efforts across Syria.
Al Hol camp, Syria
A young boy poses for a portrait during a psychosocial support activity.
UNOCHA/ Sevim TurkmaniConsequences of funding cuts
As of 6 November 2025, the Syria 2025 Humanitarian Response Priorities is funded at only 26 per cent, leaving critical gaps across sectors:
- Despite increasing GBV risks and needs, only 40 per cent of the targeted 1.5 million people have been reached with assistance with the hard-to-reach areas disproportionately affected. Seven per cent of GBV facilities have been permanently closed, leaving over 900,000 people with no access to GBV services.
- About 2.5 million children, including those with disabilities, remain exposed to the worst forms of violence and exploitation and will not have access to timely child protection preventive and response services.
- 15.4 million people, or 65 per cent of the Syrian population, will continue to be exposed to the risks from EO contamination.
- 89 per cent of IDP sites (1,526 sites) across northwest, northeast, and southern governorates, will remain highly vulnerable to flooding, fires, and disease outbreaks during the 2025–2026 winter season.
- About 2 million children and adults will not receive education assistance in 2025. With 2.5 million children (nearly half of all school-aged children) out of school, and nearly 1.6 million children at the risk of dropping out, this critical need must be urgently addressed.
- One million severely food-insecure people and those at risk of severe food insecurity have been left without monthly food assistance, while only 8 per cent of the targeted families received emergency agricultural livelihood support.
- The operation of 417 health facilities has been affected, with 366 (15 per cent) suspended or operating at reduced capacity, leaving 7.4 million people without access to basic health services.
Rural Lattakia, Syria
A young boy stands inside his severely damaged home, where his family lost everything, a powerful reminder of how urgently families need support to rebuild their lives.
UNOCHA/ Sevim Turkmani- 75,828 severely malnourished children and 277,870 moderately malnourished children aged 6 to 59 months, and, 67,468 pregnant and lactating women, will lack access to quality lifesaving nutrition services.
- Over 500,000 targeted people in need are at risk of being left without adequate shelter, exposing them to overcrowding, lack of privacy, and heightened protection concerns, including increased GBV risks.
- More than 1,500,000 prioritised people in need will not have access to essential winterization assistance, leaving them vulnerable to harsh weather conditions and associated health complications.
- Over 1,200,000 prioritised vulnerable people in need will remain without access to basic NFIs, significantly compromising their well-being and ability to recover.
- WASH partners decreased or suspended the provision of the WASH humanitarian response in more than 350 camps in northeast and northwest Syria, leaving more than 250,000 IDPs with limited access to basic WASH services.
- In northeast Syria, WASH partners suspended/decreased the provision of trucked water to the most vulnerable communities in Al Hasakeh, impacting access to water for more than 100,000 people.
Access constraints & attacks against aid workers/facilities
Humanitarian access in much of the country has improved since December 2024, with partners able to reach many areas more easily. Nevertheless, access challenges remain in some areas such as northeast Syria, eastern rural Aleppo, and southern governorates due to hostilities, road closures, and complex coordination requirements. Health and education services have been disrupted, with verified attacks on facilities and schools used as shelters during outbreaks of violence. GBV services are critically affected by fuel shortages, insecurity, and social norms. In As-Sweida, damage to over 85 water facilities have left 300,000 people without reliable access to safe water.
Syrians Leading Syria’s Humanitarian Response
From displaced children and women rebuilding their lives, to humanitarian workers who continue to serve their own communities despite loss and exile, Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund (SCHF) embodies local leadership, resilience, and hope.
In the camps and towns of northwest Syria, where years of conflict have left communities displaced and aid stretched thin, local organizations are at the heart of the humanitarian response. Through the Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund (SCHF), local actors are not only delivering life-saving assistance but also shaping a more dignified, people-centered response while Syrians continue to rebuild their lives with determination and quiet strength being not only the recipients of aid, but its planners, implementers, and advocates.
During 2025, over 77 per cent of SCHF funding was allocated to national and local NGOs, ensuring that assistance reaches communities faster, reflects their priorities, and strengthens their resilience. Through their efforts, humanitarian support is transforming from short-term relief into long-term recovery.
In Al Rahma Camp, Batbo village, 11-year-old Amir had dropped out of school to collect cardboard for survival, a practice commonly observed among vulnerable households facing severe economic hardship When a mobile protection team from a local SCHF partner visited his neighborhood, they enrolled Amir and his parents in a programme providing psychological support, family counseling, and emergency cash assistance. Within weeks, Amir was back in school, smiling, learning, and dreaming again.
“When I wore my new clothes and saw my books on the table, I felt like a child again,” he says. “I dream of returning to our village and being a child who only goes to school, not one who collects cardboard.”
In Atmeh, Idleb, Sara*, a 54-year-old woman living with a disability, received a livelihood grant and entrepreneurship training funded by SCHF. With a new sewing machine, she established a small workshop, that now sustains her household income and is now contributing to training other displaced women and generating sustainable income for her family.
“I’m not just sewing; I’m helping build hope,” she says proudly.
Together, these intertwined stories show how local leadership, inclusion, and compassion define the SCHF approach. By empowering Syrians to design and deliver assistance, the Fund transforms humanitarian aid into something deeper, a collective act of rebuilding lives, communities, and hope from within. In 2025 alone, the SCHF will reach around 2 million people, allocating nearly US$ 48.7 million to help Syrians restore dignity and rebuild their futures.
Notably, SCHF is currently in the process of merging with the Syria Humanitarian Fund (SHF) into a single, unified Fund based in Damascus. This is part of a broader transition towards an in-country-led humanitarian architecture, under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator. The shift will further empower Syrian partners and communities to lead the response, ensuring that aid reaches those who need it most, across the country.
References
- FAO Knowledge Repository
- Of this, $68.9 million is already covered under the 2025 HRP, while $125.9 million represents new funding requirements. The financial requirements are documented in a planning document (pending release).
- The financial requirements are documented in a planning document (pending release).