Improved shelter solutions for Refugees

Client: Solidarités International
Location: Lebanon
2016

Lebanon is host to the largest number of refugees per capita in the world (1 of 8 refugees), and there are 1.5 million Syria refugees in the country. According to the UNHCR, between early 2011, the beginning of the Syrian influx to Lebanon, and March 2016 the country had welcomed a total of 1,835,840 refugees from Syria. Even before the crisis, Lebanon was home to a population of more than 270,000 refugees from Palestine and the country now hosts an additional 42,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria.

The refugees were housed (and some still are) either in informal camps in tents or makeshift shelters, or in sub-standard accommodation rented by themselves, in structures as varied as buildings under construction, dilapidated buildings, farm buildings or garages.

This evaluation analyzed Solidarités International shelter assistance program for Syrian Refugees in North Lebanon (Akkar, Minieh-Dennieh, Zgharta and Tripoli).

The project aimed to provide refugees with a improved and decent shelter or housing solution, both in informal settlements and in substandard buildings.

The project therefore involved two complementary strategies. Firstly, shelter kits were distributed to help rehabilitate tents in informal settlements and to provide vulnerable families with the tools and materials needed to improve their homes. These kits are designed to enable households to make the necessary modifications to their shelters themselves. Secondly, the rehabilitation of substandard housing with the aim of reducing families’ exposure to the elements, improving sanitation and cooking facilities and enhancing their privacy.

This evaluation showed how the project had significantly improved the weatherproofness of the shelters, increased privacy levels, and hygiene conditions. Housing security has also been significantly improved by installing doors and windows, by securing access and by installing safe electrical networks. The evaluation also shows how improving substandard housing can improve living conditions in the long term by enabling some of this housing to enter the private rental market and benefit a wider population.

Interior and exterior views of a number of informal settlements and sub-standard buildings, with the improvements provided by the project.