Eleven year old twins Amal* and Bassel* were born in Syria but fled Syria due to war when they were just three months old. They grew up in Türkiye with their family and learnt Turkish but with little exposure to Arabic. Returning to Syria with their parents, the Arabic language became an obstacle in their education. This changed when the started attending Concern’s Child Development Centre in Menbij, in the Aleppo countryside. Photo: Ahmad Al Aboud/Concern Worldwide

Syria

Why are we in Syria? After 15 years of conflict and amid a rapidly-changing context in 2026, Syria remains one of the largest humanitarian crises today. Even as millions of people return home, it remains the world’s largest displacement crisis, with 5.5 million people internally displaced.

15.6 million Syrians will need humanitarian assistance in 2026

Following the onset of civil war in 2011, Syria became one of the world’s largest displacement and humanitarian crises, with over 60% of the country’s pre-war population uprooted.

The political shifts that took place over the final weeks of 2024 have led to a new reality that continues to shift in 2026. Over 3.4 million refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) have returned home to rebuild their lives after years away, while other parts of the country continue to face sporadic attacks. Hundreds of thousands of families have gone back only to find their hometowns reduced to rubble, with many living in tents on top of the debris that was once their homes.

With ongoing violence in certain areas of the country, there are also new displacements. In 2025, approximately 150,000 people moved across northeast Syria to flee conflict and are living in displacement sites, struggling to get the most basic essentials like food, water, and medicine. 90% of the country still lives below the poverty line, and 66% are living in extreme poverty. This has led to an ongoing food security crisis in the country, with the Famine Early Warning Systems Network estimating that 25% of Syrians go to bed hungry each night.

» Learn more about the crisis in Syria

Latest achievements

Programme impact

In 2025, Concern reached almost 1 million people in Syria, including over 561,000 people directly enrolled in our programmes.

Education

Food security

Children graduate from Concern's Child Friendly Space centre in Tabqa. Photo: Hani Ali Ali/Concern Worldwide

Concern’s Syria team leads a hygiene session at the Tabqa Collective Center. Photo: Hani Ali Ali/Concern Worldwide

Three of Samira*’s children warm themselves by the stove in their tent. The family of 10 were forced to flee their home in Aleppo early on in the conflict. “We moved from one village to another along the way until we finally ended up here,” says Samira. “We tried not to go too far from our homes, hoping we would return soon — but ‘soon’ turned into years.” Photo: Concern Worldwide

Water quality is tested in Twaihina Camp, Al-Tabqa in Syria. Photo: Concern Worldwide

Muhammed Kronfol meets with his fellow displaced Syrians to see the conditions of those affected by the earthquake and their needs. “I know exactly what those affected by the earthquake are suffering, as I was also one of those affected.” Photo: Ali Haj Suleiman/DEC/Fairpicture

Reem* prepares dinner at home in the Ahl al-Khair displacement camp in northern Syria. She and her husband Jafaar* received support from Concern when they moved to the camp, following the 2023 earthquake. Photos: Ali Haj Suleiman/DEC/Concern Worldwide

How we're helping in Syria

We are working hard to alleviate suffering in Syria. We are doing this by delivering a multi-sectoral package of support that includes emergency response, education, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services.