Syria - IOM has completed the repair and rehabilitation of 41 communal shelters in Damascus (6), Hama (9), Homs (20) and Lattakia (6.)

IOM contractors began repair and rehabilitation work on the shelters, which can accommodate 2,985 families, including 94 individuals with special needs, on 30th of July.

With an estimated 4.25 million people displaced in Syria, there is a chronic shortage of shelter and most collective centres lack adequate water and sanitation facilities, which poses grave health risks.

Repair and rehabilitation work included general maintenance, installation of additional sanitation facilities for the elderly and the disabled, installation of windows, doors, and privacy partitions, and ensuring that the shelters were equipped with emergency fire extinguishers.

In addition to the repair of existing shelters, IOM installed prefab accommodation units equipped with sleeping areas, kitchens, showers, and toilets.

In Damascus IOM installed 10 accommodation units, 12 shower units, and 6 toilet blocks. In Homs, it installed 46 accommodation units, 2 central kitchen units, 6 toilet blocks, and 6 shower units. In Lattakia, it installed 180 accommodation units, 147 toilet blocks, and 128 shower units.

Where possible, IOM hired shelter residents to assist with the repair and reconstruction work. Some 33 shelter residents benefitted from this cash-for-work scheme.

Since December 2012, IOM has identified 381 shelters in 10 governorates and completed 113 technical assessments of shelters in five governorates – Damascus, Rural Damascus, Homs, Hama, and Lattakia.

Since December 2012, IOM through its shelter intervention programme has rehabilitated 44 shelters in Damascus, Rural Damascus, Homs, Hama, and Lattakia.

IOM plans to repair and rehabilitate a total of 146 public shelters in 9 governorates – Damascus, Rural Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Homs, Raqqa, Deir Ezor, Sweida and Lattakia – by the end of 2013.

For more information, please contact

Maria Rumman
IOM Syria
Email: mrumman@iom.int