Summary & key findings · September 2026Cash, before the cold.
Around 1,862 families have returned to five villages north of Aleppo. In September 2026 Shafak and CARE interviewed 64 households and key informants there, and 33 traders in the markets of Azaz and Tal Refaat. The answer is consistent: families need money, and the markets can supply what it buys.
of households put cash first
got no non-food aid in 3 months
buy food on credit
of traders can restock within 7 days
What households told us
- Cash comes first. 94% of households rank it among their top three needs.Then livelihoods (67%) and food (51%). All 15 key informants put cash first for every group.
- Aid has not arrived. 97% received no non-food items in three months.95% had no food aid last month and 92% no shelter support, although all say access for aid is unobstructed.
- Homes are broken. 73% of families live in partly destroyed dwellings.They ask for repairs (60%) and electricity (54%); 23% have no private space for women.
- Winter needs are energy and warmth.Solar panels 56%, heating fuel 45%, blankets and mattresses 42%. 95% say the barrier is price.
- Families eat on debt, and women-headed households go hungry.94% buy food on credit. 44% of female-headed households go whole days without food, against 6% of male-headed ones.
- Safe, but without services.No safety concerns were reported, but 71% of toilets are unusable for people with disabilities and 53% know of no service for women and girls.
What the markets told us
- Both markets work and restock within a week.All 30 traders expect to restock in seven days; supply between markets is described as easy.
- Azaz is deep; Tal Refaat is thin.About 30 blanket and 30 stove sellers in Azaz, against 9.5 and 6 in Tal Refaat, which restocks through Azaz (16 of 20 traders).
- Prices are the risk.Every trader saw significant price changes in a month; Azaz names high prices as its main threat. Price levels were not captured.
- Open to all, run by men.All respondents report equal access, including for people with disabilities, and available transport; 32 of 33 say traders are mostly men.
Most urgent winter items
n = 64
Where traders restock
n = 30
Is cash feasible? Yes. Households are short of money, not of goods; both markets are functioning, restock within a week and are open to everyone. Manage two risks: rising prices, and Tal Refaat's small winter-item trade.
What to do now
- Deliver unrestricted multipurpose cash before winter, sized for heating fuel, bedding and debt, with a buffer for rising prices.
- Target female-headed households first, then families in damaged, unfinished or unprotected shelters.
- Run a quick winter-basket price check before fixing the transfer value, then monitor weekly in Azaz and Tal Refaat.
- Alert Tal Refaat traders ahead of distribution so blankets, mattresses, stoves and fuel are stocked in time.
- Complement cash with light shelter repair, solar lighting, water-network and pump repairs, and accessible toilets.
- Open referral pathways for assistive devices and chronic-illness care, and a safe service point for women and girls.
Method. Needs Assessment: 64 interviews (40 returnee and 9 resident household heads, 15 key informants) in Deir Jamal, Kafr Naseh, Misqan, Hardatnin and Tal Jabin, 20–22 September 2026. Winter Market Assessment: 33 respondents in Azaz (13) and Tal Refaat (20), 21–22 September 2026. Purposive samples; results describe these locations, not the whole district. Full reports and interactive dashboards are on the portal.