DAMASCUS, 4 December 2025 - Syrians returning home full of hope in the year since the conflict ended said they are struggling to rebuild their lives amid destroyed infrastructure, limited access to schools and healthcare, and a collapsing economy, Save the Children said.
Since the 14-year conflict ended on 8 December last year, more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees and 1.9 million internally displaced people have returned to their places of origin. But many are finding their neighbourhoods in ruins, with their homes reduced to rubble and 38% of hospitals and a quarter of all schools fully or partially destroyed.
Compounding the destruction, Syria faces a severe economic crisis. Jobs are scarce, 90% of the population lives below the poverty line, and unexploded remnants of war continue to endanger lives.
Today, 16.7 million people – nearly three-quarters of the population – including 7.5 million children, need humanitarian assistance.
Nour*, 42, returned to Syria two months ago after 14 years in Lebanon. She and her husband brought their children – Hassan*, 8, and Zahra, 6 – back to their family home in a town in Rural Damascus that was heavily bombed during the conflict.
“I was so shocked to see the destruction when we got back. It is like starting all over again,” she said at a Save the Children-supported child centre. “But we are with our family again, we are home. I just hope it gets better with time. We really need help to rebuild Syria. I want my children to have a good education and a brighter future.”
About 90% of the buildings in the town were destroyed, with skeletal buildings now standing over fields of rubble. Red water tanks perched on rooftops mark the few buildings that are inhabited or under reconstruction.
One reconstruction effort is Al Dabbass School, a secondary school for girls aged 11-18. Save the Children and local partner, Action for Humanity, are rehabilitating the building, which has been unused since November 2012. The school is expected to reopen early next year and serve about 1,000 students – a critical step as some local schools are operating double shifts and hosting up to 70 students per class.
Across Syria, 2.4 million children remain out of school, and many need urgent psychosocial support after years of displacement and violence.
Zainab*, 46, said her 8-year-old daughter remains so traumatised by past airstrikes that she hides every time she hears an aircraft.
“She is constantly ill from fear and keeps getting nose bleeds from this stress,” she said. “We need far more support as will anyone else if they think about coming back.”
In Aleppo, 23-year-old Lina* returned this year with her husband and three children after eight years in Türkiye. Six months pregnant, she is unsure where she will give birth due to the lack of accessible healthcare.
“I was very surprised when we got back to see how bad the situation is. There is so much damage in Aleppo. We only get electricity six hours a day,” she said. “My children have struggled to adapt, but at least they can go to school again. I don’t regret returning – this is my home – but it may be too early for many to come back. There is not enough assistance for those of us already here.”
Despite significant challenges, some progress is emerging.
At a maternal and children’s hospital near Idlib, Dr. Hind* said miscarriages linked to trauma from airstrikes have fallen from 33 per month to fewer than 15 since the conflict ended. Dr. Hind, 35, who lost two children during childbirth in the war, now has two young children of her own.
“Now we can plan for the future. Before, we couldn’t,” she said. “I used to talk with my husband about where the children would go if we died. But now we have hope again.”
Rasha Muhrez, Save the Children’s Syria Country Director, said:
“During 14 years of conflict, more than half the population – over 13 million people – were displaced. Many want to return home, but they are coming back to devastation and a lack of basic services. We must ensure people can return safely and that children have access to education, healthcare, and protection. Children must be at the heart of Syria’s reconstruction.
“This year, humanitarian funding to Syria has been cut at a time when investment is crucial – both to meet immediate needs as the country stabilises and to rebuild education systems and livelihoods for the long term. We urge the international community not to forget Syria. The crisis is far from over.”
Save the Children has worked in Syria since 2012, supporting displaced families directly and through local partners.
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