Syrian Arab Republic

Summary of needs

• The 14-year conflict, the economic crises, the environmental and climate change impacts and the deterioration of the public sector capacities and services were the main drivers for the WASH vulnerability in Syria. The WASH Sector vulnerability assessment and the MSNA highlighted that safe and sufficient access to WASH services remains a challenge for many communities in Syria. According to the WASH needs overview, more than 12 million people in Syria have limited access to basic WASH services, including water, sanitation, hygiene, and solid waste.
• Access to water remains one of the main challenges affecting the daily lives and livelihoods of millions of Syrians. The damage to water infrastructure in more than 30 per cent of Syrian communities, the power supply shortage, the climate change impacts, and the limited technical and operational capacities of service providers have limited access to improved water sources for more than 30 per cent of Syrian households.
• Moreover, reduced precipitation and drought-like conditions in 2025 have severely affected Syria’s primary water resources, including the Euphrates River, groundwater aquifers, and springs, by 30 per cent to 50 per cent. This severe strain on Syria’s main water resource has reduced access to water for more than 10 million people already struggling to meet their basic needs. Households in these communities are adopting several coping mechanisms to secure the minimum amount of water for drinking and domestic use. These coping mechanisms include purchasing high-cost trucked water, relying on unsafe sources such as agricultural wells, or reducing water consumption, while neglecting the associated social, health, and nutrition risks and challenges.
• Regarding community sanitation services, more than 22 per cent of Syrian households are not connected to sewage collection networks and rely on alternative systems, including septic tanks and open drainage. Moreover, the limited technical, financial, and operational capacities of water services providers are affecting their ability to maintain sufficient sanitation services, resulting in wastewater accumulation and environmental contamination in many communities in Rural Damascus, Deir-ez-Zor, Homs and other areas.
• At the household level, according to the 2025 MSNA, more than 18 per cent of families suffer from limited access to household sanitation facilities and hygiene materials, either due to insufficient toilets or a lack of water/soap at handwashing facilities.
• In the IDP camps and shelters in Aleppo, Al-Hasakeh, As-Sweida, Deir-ez-Zor and Idlib, the households are struggling to maintain basic WASH services. More than 70 per cent of the camps are not connected to water networks, and more than 50 per cent are not connected to sewage collection services. Therefore, the households in these camps rely mainly on trucked water to meet their basic water needs and septic tanks and open drainage systems for sewage collection and disposal.
• Regarding solid waste, most Syrian communities and camps are covered by public waste collection services; more than 45 per cent of the Syrian communities suffer occasional or frequent solid waste accumulation. Moreover, the unofficial and unregulated dumping sites and landfills are becoming a serious environmental hazard affecting water resources and public health in these areas.