Deir-ez-Zor Rapid Needs Assessment — February 2025
Rapid needs assessment in Deir-ez-Zor governorate following the collapse of the Assad regime — 416 households surveyed across seven communities.
Case Details
Type: Publication
Year: 2025
Themes: Humanitarian, Recovery, IDPs
Region: Deir-ez-Zor, Syria
Status: Available on request
Want the full report?
Get in touch and we’ll send the full report on request.
The Story
Following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, Middle East Consulting Solutions (MECS) conducted a Rapid Needs Assessment in Deir-ez-Zor governorate. We surveyed 416 households across seven communities to capture immediate vulnerabilities, set baselines for response programming, and identify the most pressing humanitarian gaps in the post-transition period.
Findings highlight severe socio-economic strain: over half of households face financial deficits, 57% report direct exposure to landmines and unexploded ordnance, and 94% are affected by housing shortages. Despite these conditions, displaced families consistently express a desire to return — pointing to a clear case for sustained recovery investment.
What MECS Did
MECS designed a stratified sampling frame across seven communities in Deir-ez-Zor, balancing geography, displacement status, and accessibility. The 416-household survey combined quantitative indicators on income, food security, water, housing, health and protection with qualitative probes on intentions to return and perceived priority needs.
Analysis showed households spending nearly 43% of their income on food, with water access remaining inconsistent and many relying on unsafe sources. Public services — health, education, electricity — were limited or absent across most surveyed communities, compounding vulnerabilities for returnees and IDPs alike.
Particular attention was given to landmine and UXO exposure, which 57% of households reported as a direct concern, and to the gendered dimensions of displacement and return. Findings were triangulated through key informant interviews with local authorities and service providers.
The Results
The assessment outputs included a public-facing summary, a confidential donor briefing, and recommendations sequenced by short-, medium- and long-term recovery windows — designed to inform programme design across health, livelihoods, education and public utilities.