Syria

We are present in Syria since 2011, right before the start of the crisis, delivering humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected populations through integrated, multi-sectoral interventions. We operate through 3 Field Offices: Damascus, Aleppo and Deir-ez-Zor, with a presence in over 60 communities across four governorates. WeWorld in Syria works primarily in rural and underserved areas, operating in Emergency Response, Education, WASH and Early Recovery & Livelihoods.

Despite the change of the political scenery, Syria remains one of the world’s most complex and protracted humanitarian crises. Millions of people are facing acute and overlapping needs and critical shortages of services and protection, due to more than a decade of conflict, economic collapse and structural devastation: according to the United Nations, approximately 16.5 million people in Syria require humanitarian assistance in 2026. Despite some decrease in large-scale hostilities, the country’s infrastructure has suffered extensive damage and remains insufficient to support the population. Furthermore, landmines and explosive remnants of war pose a grave protection risk, with more than 1,000 casualties reported throughout 2025; alarmingly, one third are children.  

Displacement remains one of the largest issues, and transcends borders: at the end of 2024, over 8 million people were internally displaced within Syria and more than 6 million Syrians were refugees abroad. However, there have been significant movements toward areas of origin ever since. Over 1.4 million Syrians - of which more than 1 million internally displaced people and roughly 400.000 refugees from neighbouring countries - have returned home seeking safety, services and opportunities for rebuilding their lives.

Children, who make up a large portion of the displaced population and of the overall population of the country, face interruptions in education, as 2.5 million of them are out of school and another 1.6 million more are at risk of dropping out. Meanwhile, 40% of schools remain non-operational.

WeWorld’s programming applies an approach that coordinates emergency and early recovery components to respond to complex and overlapping needs. It integrates Emergency Response, Education, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and Livelihoods, while systematically mainstreaming child protection, community engagement, and the inclusion of children and people with disabilities across all interventions.  

In recent years, our core areas of intervention have gradually shifted from urban to rural settings, especially remote and hard-to-reach communities that have been disproportionately affected by the crisis and destruction. We have adapted our intervention to the population needs, as in early 2023 following the earthquake that strongly affected many governorates, including Aleppo’s.  

Years of crisis have severely impacted access to quality education, particularly in rural and isolated communities. Our efforts contribute in building the resilience of the education system and the affected communities through:

Water infrastructure across Syria has suffered extensive damage, limiting access to safe and reliable water services. To tackle this, we have intervened through:

The protracted crisis and economic collapse have significantly reduced employment opportunities and income sources for Syrian families. WeWorld promotes self-reliance and economic recovery through:

In parallel, WeWorld maintains preparedness to respond to sudden shocks through rapid emergency interventions, implemented directly or in collaboration with local partners.

In line with its values, WeWorld aims to place people and communities at the centre of the narrative. Alongside our operational presence, we also engage in raising awereness on the living conditions of the Syrians in areas where we intervene. To reach a range of audiences and help them understand the realities of these places, separated from the global media spotlight, we provide a variety of communication products. Here are a few: