As part of the overall humanitarian response and supporting the resilience and social cohesion of return areas , UNHCR provided shelter support and small-scale community infrastructure rehabilitation to returning refugees, IDPs and host communities, especially in Homs, Hama, Aleppo, Rural Damascus, Dara’a, Al Hassakeh and Lattakia Governorates. In 2020, a total of 152,635 IDP and refugee returnees and host communities in these areas benefited from UNHCR’s shelter programme.
UNHCR and its partners repaired 2,350 damaged houses, provided shelter material packages to another 4,292 households in Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Rural Damascus, Lattakia, Qunitra, Deir Azzor and Daraa’a benefiting 58,636 individuals. Another 93,300 individuals benefited from community infrastructure rehabilitation activities, including the removal of 187,063 cubic meters of debris, repairing common spaces such as staircases, roofs, and the installation of lateral connection to 116 damaged buildings in neighbourhoods hosting returnees in Aleppo, Dara’a, Hama and Rural Damascus. Also, 699 technical partner staff were trained to conduct shelter assessment in line with UNHCR standard operating procedures and standards.