Shelter
People Targeted
0.8M
People Prioritized
0.5M
Requirements (US$)
$180.2M
Prioritized Requirements (US$)
$130.2M
NFIs
People Targeted
2.0M
People Prioritized
1.1M
Requirements (US$)
$197.5M
Prioritized Requirements (US$)
$105.1M
Summary of needs
- Syria continues to face one of the most complex shelter and basic household assistance crises globally, driven by protracted conflict, environmental shocks, economic decline, and ongoing displacement and return dynamics. Housing damage, deteriorated living conditions, and insufficient access to essential NFIs are deeply interconnected with protection risks, service collapse, and return sustainability.
- The 2025 Nationwide Housing Damage Assessment (HDA) confirms that 89 per cent of assessed communities report housing damage, with nearly half indicating that more than 50 per cent of their housing stock is affected. While 79 per cent of damaged housing remains structurally repairable, 17 per cent is completely destroyed. Financial constraints remain the primary barrier to repair, cited by 97 per cent of communities.
- At the same time, millions of households lack access to essential household items necessary for safe and dignified living. Core NFIs, including bedding, mattresses, kitchen sets, hygiene items, and household materials, remain critical for newly displaced families, protracted IDPs, returnees reoccupying damaged homes, and vulnerable host communities. Winter NFIs, such as heaters, winter clothing, blankets, and insulation materials, are vital given Syria’s severe seasonal exposure.
- Damage is largely dispersed, requiring area-based approaches rather than isolated interventions. Returns continue despite housing constraints, with communities reporting occupation of damaged and even destroyed housing. However, many returnees lack the minimum household items needed to make repaired homes habitable. Shelter rehabilitation without adequate Core and Winter NFIs limits sustainability and protection outcomes.
- MSNA findings confirm that inadequate shelter and insufficient household items remain top multisector needs. In CCCM intention surveys, 76 per cent of households cite damaged housing as the primary barrier to return. Essential services decline as housing damage increases, compounding vulnerability.
- About 6.2 million people require shelter assistance and over 6.3 million require NFI support. More than 5.5 million people remain internally displaced, including 1.2 million in tents, unfinished buildings, or overcrowded collective centres. Seasonal exposure to winter storms, flooding, and heatwaves further increases reliance on both shelter rehabilitation and winterization assistance.
- The needs landscape is therefore defined by large-scale but largely repairable housing damage; persistent displacement; increasing returns into damaged areas; insufficient access to Core and Winter NFIs; affordability constraints; climate exposure; and funding levels insufficient to meet the scale of need.
Response strategy
- The 2026 response is guided by the Shelter/ NFI Sector Strategy 2025–2026 and grounded in HDA and MSNA evidence. The sector adopts a “Do Fewer Things, Better” approach that consolidates interventions geographically and links shelter rehabilitation with adequate householdlevel support.
The response is structured around three key priorities.
- First, emergency shelter and NFI assistance will continue for newly displaced households, protracted IDPs, and populations affected by sudden shocks. This includes emergency shelter solutions, Core NFI kits, Winter NFIs, and sitelevel improvements to ensure minimum living standards and reduce exposure to climate risks.
- Second, the sector will support safe, voluntary, and dignified returns through area-based rehabilitation in high-severity, high-return locations. Interventions combine minor to heavy housing repairs with Core NFIs and seasonal winter support to ensure that repaired homes are both structurally safe and functionally habitable. Limited short-term cash-for-rent may be used where rehabilitation is not immediately feasible.
- Third, preparedness and rapid response capacity will be strengthened through an Emergency Response Mechanism deployable within 48–72 hours. Pre-positioned Core and Winter NFI stocks, emergency shelter kits, and flexible cash modalities will enable timely response to displacement spikes and seasonal shocks.
- Within humanitarian parameters, the sector focuses on repairable housing and life-sustaining assistance, including essential household items. Major reconstruction and large-scale infrastructure recovery remain outside humanitarian scope.
Targeting & prioritization
- The sector applies a strategic, evidence-based prioritisation framework drawing on HDA data, MSNA severity analysis, CCCM return-intention data, and ISIMM Plus.
- For return support, prioritisation combines structural viability, return intensity, and infrastructure functionality, with safeguards addressing EO contamination, HLP barriers, and protection risks.
- For NFI assistance, prioritisation considers displacement status, vulnerability (FHHs, persons with disabilities, elderly), seasonal exposure, and living conditions in camps, collective centres, and damaged housing. Severity 4 households are prioritised, with concentrated support in highdensity Severity 3 areas.
- Programming expands cash-for-repair and, where feasible, cash-based NFI modalities to enhance flexibility and cost-efficiency, while in-kind distributions remain critical in areas with weak markets or access constraints.
Promoting accountable, quality & inclusive programming
- The sector mainstreams accountable and protection-centred programming across shelter and NFI interventions.
- Communities are consulted during area selection and distribution planning. Post-Distribution Monitoring assesses both shelter outcomes and the appropriateness of Core and Winter NFI assistance. Complaint and Response Mechanisms are accessible and transparent.
- PSEA protocols are applied by all partners, and risk mitigation measures are integrated into both shelter design and distribution processes.
- Gender and protection considerations inform shelter layout and NFI composition. GBV risk mitigation measures, prioritisation of vulnerable households, and HLP due diligence are applied consistently. Winter assistance specifically targets households at heightened seasonal risk.
- Environmental safeguards include application of NEAT+, debris reuse in rehabilitation, and climate-adaptive improvements such as insulation and drainage.
Cost of response
- The 2026 response balances life-saving NFI assistance, return-oriented shelter rehabilitation, and preparedness.
- The largest share of sector funding requirements is directed toward Shelter Repair and Rehabilitation, reflecting the scale of repairable housing damage nationwide. Winter and Core NFIs together represent more than half of total requirements, highlighting that household-level assistance-such as heating, bedding, and essential items, are as critical as structural repair. These needs are driven by displacement, return movements, and recurring seasonal exposure.
- The remaining requirements support complementary components, including community infrastructure, emergency shelter and site support, transitional shelter solutions, limited rental assistance, and sector capacity strengthening.
- Overall, funding requirements are broadly balanced between assistance for displaced populations and support to safe, voluntary, and dignified returns, with a dedicated allocation for contingency and rapid response capacity.
- Cost drivers include housing damage severity, winter exposure, inflation in materials and NFI commodities, fuel and transport costs, and labour shortages. While delivery modality influences unit costs, overall expenditure is primarily driven by structural damage levels and seasonal vulnerability.
Sector Transition
- As part of the humanitarian reset, the Shelter/NFI Sector is progressing toward consolidation with CCCM and the HLP Area of Responsibility. This merger aims to strengthen integrated displacement responses, align with the Government’s No Camp policy, and reinforce area-based programming linking shelter rehabilitation, site management, and tenure security.
- A merger framework is to be developed by June 2026, with phased implementation through December 2026 and full operationalisation in 2027, aligned with the 2027 HPC process.