Sectoral impact:
Infrastructure and services: Debris and damaged infrastructure continue to hinder the restoration of services and the resumption of business activities. Municipal services remain disrupted, with a lack of capacity-building delaying sustainable recovery and reliable service delivery.
Economic strain and inflation: Income-expenditure gaps persist across regions, with expenditures far exceeding incomes, even in households with multiple earners. Depreciation of the Syrian pound (SYP) and Turkish lira, coupled with soaring inflation, has drastically increased the MEB/SMEB, intensifying household vulnerabilities. The SMEB cost has increased by 12 to 24 per cent in one year, with an average worker needing 60 days’ wages to afford it across Hasakah, Raqqa, and Deir ez-Zor governorates and Manbij subdistrict.
Livelihood challenges: Unemployment, job losses, and lack of services remain significant barriers to meeting basic needs. Many households rely on unsustainable coping strategies, including borrowing money, selling productive assets, or engaging in high-risk or degrading jobs, which compromise long-term resilience.
Market and economic challenges: High supplier costs and market price increases hinder vendors’ ability to restock essential goods, particularly in view of newly accessed areas. Stock shortages and reduced credit availability from vendors prevent them from meeting consumer demand, worsening financial strain for consumers reliant on credit. Traders also avoid accepting SYP due to exchange rate instability, further disrupting market operations.
Electricity disparities: Electricity access remains uneven, with some households depending on the main grid, others relying on solar power, and 1 in 20 households lacking electricity entirely. Additionally, over 413,000 people in Manbij and Kobani have been left without electricity due to damage to the Tishreen Dam.
Immediate needs:
- Infrastructure and services: Comprehensive debris removal, and rehabilitation of roads, electrical networks, public facilities, irrigation systems and agricultural infrastructure, and the restoration of municipal services are essential. Access to reliable energy remains critical, with over half of households in some regions lacking access to the main grid.
- Livelihoods and employment: Employment income remains insufficient for 70 per cent of households in northern Syria. Planned IDP returns increase the demand for employment, and it is crucial to ensure the inclusion of women in economic activities for fostering equitable livelihoods.
- Economic recovery and market stabilization: Support for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is essential to reactivate and stabilize markets; new markets previously inaccessible require rehabilitation.
- Social cohesion and community resilience: Social cohesion measures particularly in areas experiencing IDP returns, strengthening basic services and facilities in host communities, initiatives to foster community representation and asset protection programs.
- Energy and renewable solutions: Providing access to electricity, and solar energy systems for households, businesses, markets, and essential service facilities.
- Capacity-building and skill development: for service providers, and programs for technical and vocational training, job placement, MSME support, and value chain development.
Priority activities:
- Infrastructure and services: Removal of debris from former frontline villages in north-west Syria after mine action services are completed. Rehabilitation of roads, water stations, markets and warehouses.
- Energy and renewable solutions: Solar kits or cash support to provide electricity access for households in areas affected by electricity loss, including newly displaced populations; installation of solar micro-grids in market areas and facilities serving vulnerable communities impacted by electricity infrastructure damage.
- Livelihoods and employment: Creation of immediate income opportunities through short-term cash-for-work programs, including repairing public infrastructure such as street cleaning and water systems; vocational training, job placement, and start-up support to help households generate sustainable incomes; business grants to protect livelihoods, restore assets, stabilize income, and support supply chain continuity.
- Economic recovery and market stabilization: Provision of support and grants to MSMEs; support for existing village savings and loan associations.
- Social cohesion and community resilience: Launch of social cohesion initiatives to strengthen relationships between host communities, nearby IDP sites, and returnees.
- Capacity-building and planning: Workshops to guide community representatives in developing localized early recovery plans.
Response strategy:
The early recovery and livelihoods (ERL) sector has an integrated response strategy which aims to address the underlying drivers of need to strengthen the self-reliance of affected populations, improve individual, household, and community welfare, and reduce dependence on external assistance. This enables communities to take the lead in their recovery by fostering resilience and reducing vulnerability. It also supports productive, sustainable livelihoods and income-generating opportunities to enable households to meet their needs while improving access to essential services, which reduce pressures and create an enabling environment for recovery and investment in long-term development.
Coordination and linkages: The strategy coordinates with other sectors, including collaborating closely with food security and CWGs to integrate MPC assistance and consumption support into ERL interventions, engaging with protection AoRs to ensure inclusivity and mitigate risks like child labour and gender-based violence while promoting gender-balanced opportunities, and WASH for water systems rehabilitation and other WASH-related activities.
ERL implements mixed response modalities, including cash and vouchers for short-term job creation through cash for work programs and support for community development projects. It provides in-kind support, including the provision of equipment and productive assets. ERL also provides emergency business grants and solar systems for power-dependent businesses. ERL ensures inclusivity of programming through considering the needs of vulnerable groups, using context and conflict sensitivity analyses, and prioritizing interventions that reduce negative coping mechanisms.
Delivery modalities include immediate and high-impact interventions: Includes a focus on preserving livelihoods during periods of heightened economic volatility by improving access to electricity and supporting sustainable income opportunities for vulnerable households. Also addressing critical service gaps by repairing essential infrastructure such as Alouk water station and Swediyeh power station in Hasakah, Tabqa hydroelectric dam in Raqqa and Tishreen dam in Aleppo.
Locally led recovery and capacity-building: Includes empowering communities to lead early recovery processes by supporting the development of locally led recovery plans and area-based approaches and conducting capacity-building workshops for line ministries and local authorities to enhance their ability to coordinate, plan, and implement recovery and reconstruction activities.
Transitioning to development and reconstruction: Includes laying the foundation for locally-led development and reconstruction efforts that can meet needs at scale and ensure long-term sustainability and strengthening graduation support and market-based interventions to enable households to transition from dependence on humanitarian aid to sustainable livelihoods.