Aleppo, Syria 14 September 2022 --Students attending Arabstan school in Aleppo, Syria, had to walk a badly damaged road that was dangerous for pedestrians leading to the school.

In cooperation with ONG Rescate and upon assessing the needs of the community, UN-Habitat rehabilitated the road and facilities around the school, ensuring the safety of 60,000 residents of the area.

“We feel safer going to school now,” Nadra, a twelve-year old student at the Arabstan school, commented on the roads’ rehabilitation and the installment of a fence surrounding the school.

UN-Habitat’s Safer Access project prioritises providing safe access to schools and clean rehabilitated open spaces for the use of students, parents and other community members.

UN-Habitat safer access project successfully rehabilitated other public spaces and critical infrastructure in Aleppo, as well as other cities in Syria, including 5 schools in Aleppo and the catchment areas around 6 schools in rural Damascus.

UN-Habitat also focused on COVID-19 municipal preparedness plan to support local governments in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Such interventions fostered community engagement through ensuring access to inclusive public spaces that were impacted by the Syria crisis.

Moreover, UN-Habitat installed over 100 solar powered street lighting units around schools, playgrounds, and other public spaces in Syria to ensure safety and inclusion for all community members. Such interventions are a part of an ongoing effort to rehabilitate cities impacted by the Syria crisis and to ensure the existence of inclusive public spaces across the country.

The Syria crisis, spanning more than a decade, severely damaged houses, facilities and infrastructure as well as forced more than 6.8 million Syrians to flee their country.