Returning to Hope: Needs and Challenges in Syria, One Year After the Liberation

One year after the political transition of 8 December 2024, Syria stands at a fragile moment of hope. Violence has declined, roads have reopened, and more than one million people have begun returning home — many for the first time in more than a decade. Families are stepping back into towns scarred by conflict, searching for safety, stability, and the chance to rebuild their lives.

Yet the reality they return to is extraordinarily difficult.

Across the country, 16.5 million people still need humanitarian assistance. Entire neighbourhoods remain in ruins. Water systems function at only half their former capacity. Hospitals and schools are overwhelmed. Many communities cannot yet provide even the most basic services — not because of conflict, but because the scale of return is outpacing recovery.

A defining challenge is the presence of explosive remnants of war. Mines and unexploded ordnance contaminate farmland, roads, schools, and homes. In the past year alone, more than 650 explosive incidents have killed or injured hundreds of civilians, many of them children. This makes explosive ordnance not just a safety issue, but the single biggest obstacle to rebuilding Syria’s economy, infrastructure, and future.

Despite these challenges, Syrians are already driving their own recovery. Communities are repairing homes, replanting fields, reopening businesses, and supporting returning families. Action For Humanity has been at the heart of this work for over a decade. AFH has rehabilitated schools and clinics, restored water systems, supported farmers, and delivered vital health, education, and livelihood services to millions.

But the scale of need is growing faster than the support available. Early recovery is happening without the multi-year funding required to sustain it. If the international community does not act now, Syria risks losing the fragile gains made over the past year.

Key Asks

To ensure stability and support returning families, AFH calls on donors, governments, and international institutions to:

1. Make explosive ordnance clearance a top national priority.
   No reconstruction, farming, or safe return is possible until land and infrastructure are cleared.
2. Invest in essential services in high-return communities.
   Water, healthcare, education, and electricity systems need urgent rehabilitation.
3. Provide multi-year funding for early recovery.
   Short-term grants cannot rebuild communities; predictable funding can.
4. Support the restoration of local markets and livelihoods.
   Help families earn a living again through agriculture, small businesses, and cash assistance.
5. Rebuild schools and strengthen teacher recruitment and training.
   Syria cannot recover if a generation is denied education.
6. Rehabilitate and equip health facilities.
   Clinics need staff, supplies, and safe infrastructure to cope with rising demand.
7. Link agriculture programmes with mine clearance.
   Farmers cannot plant fields they cannot safely reach.
8. Prioritise women, people with disabilities, and vulnerable returnee households.
   These groups face the highest barriers to stability.
9. Empower Syrian-led organisations like AFH.
   Local organisations have the access, trust, and experience to deliver results where others cannot.

A Moment of Fragile Possibility

Syria’s recovery will not be quick. But this year has shown that despite deep hardship, Syrians are ready to rebuild. With coordinated support, grounded in safety, dignity, and long-term investment, communities can begin to move from survival to recovery.

AFH stands ready to lead this work. What happens next will depend on whether the international community chooses to match the courage and determination of those returning home.