Since the arrival of large numbers of Syrian refugees to neighboring countries, social cohesion has been a key issue in many countries given that 95 percent of Syrian refugees across the region are living alongside host communities in urban areas.

With several compounding crises in the region, social cohesion and social stability between refugees and host community members have been threatened by rising costs of living, and pressure on resources and basic services. These tensions are further exacerbated by misperceptions, frustrations, and higher levels of stress across refugee and host communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Against this backdrop, social cohesion has become an increasingly important priority for the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) – a combined humanitarian and development plan active in Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt to help countries deal with the large influx of refugee populations because of the Syria crisis.