Syria - Habitat

Water and sanitation

In 2025, AKDN provided drinking water services to nearly 400,000 people in Syria.

AKDN trucks water to communities where existing supplies have failed, delivering it to household tanks, community reservoirs and community water tanks. The water is tested for safety from filling through to delivery.

Water trucking is an emergency measure, so AKDN is also mapping and modelling groundwater to assess which longer-term solutions are likely to work and where solarising local boreholes could supply outlying communities. Diesel generators are expensive to run, so AKDN has built solar pumps to bring water up from deep underground. One of six solar installations lifts water from a village well to a high tank in the centre of the village, following national guidelines on sustainable groundwater extraction.

AKDN is also piloting household rainwater harvesting. Five demonstration systems in two villages collect and filter rain into underground tanks sized to the household and expected local rainfall. The families were trained to install and maintain the systems. AKDN is assessing and documenting how the pilots perform, and promoting wider adoption.

Restoring infrastructure

Disrupted waste collection and disposal have polluted the environment and increased health risks. Municipalities have limited capacity to restore hygiene and sanitation services, and there is little private sector involvement to draw on.

AKDN is rehabilitating drinking water systems, public water treatment plants and healthcare facilities to restore access to safe water and essential health services. AKDN also supports one municipality with solid waste collection and transportation.

Clean energy

In 2025, AKDN installed almost four megawatts of solar capacity across six of Syria's governorates, and nearly 70,000 people were using clean energy.

AKDN works with families to install household solar systems for lighting and basic appliances. In one village of 24 households, AKDN installed solar panels on the roof of the community centre. Residents set up a cooperative that all 24 households joined, each contributing 500 Syrian pounds, about US$ 0.20, a month towards maintenance.

Farmers who dug up to 100 metres for groundwater and ran diesel generators to pump it now irrigate with solar-powered pumps. Solar systems at community health centres keep lighting, medical equipment and diagnostic tests running for nearly 5,000 people.

Trees

In 2025, communities in Syria planted more than 200,000 trees at 39 sites with AKDN. Species, planting method and watering schedule were based on soil tests and location analysis. The communities that planted the trees also protect and maintain them.

Planting slows desertification, helps recharge water tables and provides shade. Residents describe digging a metre for water where wells now go down 50 or 100 metres. In one campaign, around 360 volunteers planted trees along street dividers and pavements and in local parks and school gardens. An awareness campaign for 80 children aged six to 13 covered waste disposal, recycling, gardening and composting, and the children made artwork promoting greener practices and environmental conservation.

Building with earth

AKDN works with local communities and universities to revive earth architecture, training architects and engineers to build with compressed stabilised earth blocks. Local soils and different designs were tested to develop the most suitable solutions for local conditions.

Using those designs and locally made blocks, AKDN is working with builders and engineers on a demonstration house incorporating rainwater harvesting and solar power.