Syria - Over the past two weeks IOM has trained 106 staff from local Syrian NGOs, municipal relief workers and staff from the Ministries of Social Affairs and Local Administration on principles of shelter management and humanitarian assistance.

The training covered basic principles of humanitarian assistance, shelter management, needs assessment practices, risk management, and coordination with partners. Two four-day training workshops took place in Lattakia and Damascus.  NGO participants all work with vulnerable internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Alhassakeh, As Sweida, Damascus, Hama, Homs, Lattakia, Tartous and Rural Damascus governorates.

With over 4.25 million people displaced in Syria, most IDPs and affected populations are dependent on their community, local charities, and humanitarian partners for food, non-food relief items and shelter assistance.

IOM identified the need for training on shelter management and humanitarian assistance after assessing the capacity and needs of 32 community-based organizations in eight governorates (Damascus, Rural Damascus, Hama, Homs, Alhassakeh, As Sweida, Lattakia and Tartous). IOM and its partners expect the number of IDPs and people in need will increase as the conflict continues and winter approaches.

A training participant in Lattakia working for an NGO in Alhassakeh commented: “Through this training we have realized that humanitarian assistance should be based on principles; not just on voluntary work. The needs are huge and continued trainings are needed to enable us to better serve our communities.”

IOM staff provided training on key concepts related to shelter management, including principles of humanitarian assistance, managing people during emergencies, risk management and coordination among partners.

During the training, participants were encouraged to share ways of resolving conflict between residents of collective centers, and participants were trained to identify potential areas of conflict over resources between IDP and host communities.

Since December 2012, IOM has implemented capacity building training on 167 staff of 50 local NGOs. IOM’s capacity building activities in Syria are funded by the Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department of the European Commission (ECHO), the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Emergency Response Fund (ERF).

For more information please contact

Maria Rumman
IOM Syria
Email: mrumman@iom.int