North-West Syria Hub

News

Context

The Shelter/Non-Food Items (S/NFI) Cluster, co-led by UNHCR and CARE, coordinates the efforts of approximately 80 member organizations in the cross-border operation. Based in Gaziantep- South Turkey, S/NFI provides cross-border assistance in north-west Syria and remotely coordinate the response.

The Cluster Coordination team is made up of the Senior Cluster Coordinator, Co-chair, Support Officer, Information Management Officers, Reporting Officer and Technical Experts. Working closely with the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG), as well as the Friends of SAG, to lead and coordinate the strategic direction of the cluster beside steering the annual plans of the cluster.

The cluster has established multiple Technical Working Groups (TWG) on specialised topics, such as Dignified Communities, Flood Risk Mitigation and Response, Advocacy and Communication, and Gender and Protection in Shelters. S/NFI also closely collaborates with other clusters on cross-cutting issues, such as Housing, Land and Property.

In 2021, S/NFI Cluster members reached over one million people with shelter support, including the provision of emergency shelter, rehabilitation of infrastructure, rental assistance, and shelter rehabilitation and transitional shelter.  As part of a complementarity approach, some sites and IDPs benefited from more than one S/NFI activity.

More than two million people were reached with NFI assistance in 2021, through cash, in-kind or voucher modalities. NFI items range from blankets, jerry cans and NFI kits, to kitchen set, mattresses, carpets and solar lamps.

Moving forward, in 2022, S/NFI is dedicated to strengthen its response in the following key areas:

1. After more than 10 years of conflict, there is an emerging need for safe and dignified shelters and linkage to dignified living conditions.
2. Improved infrastructure is essential to mitigate climate-related disasters that occur every year, specifically floods.
3. Larger-scale Winterization is critical to reach a larger proportion of the people in need with the recommended baseline services.