The Syrian Future Movement is following with growing concern and a sense of responsibility the recent statements made by the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Ms. Hind Qabawat, who confirmed that approximately 80% of Syrians live below the poverty line. She based this on a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report issued in February 2025, which raised the multidimensional poverty rate to 90%, with extreme poverty increasing sixfold (from 11% to 66%), and overall poverty nearly tripling (from 33% before the revolution to 90% currently). The report also noted an unemployment rate of 25% (one in four people is unemployed), and that 75% of the population (three out of four) relies on humanitarian aid.
The Syrian Future Movement views these alarming figures as irrefutable evidence of the depth of the economic and social crisis gripping the country and appreciates any sincere effort to address it.
However, the Syrian Future Movement expresses its sharp and realistic criticism of the announced approach, particularly the announcement of the preparation of a “National Strategy to Combat Poverty” and a “Comprehensive Social Protection Strategy” within just three months. This raises serious questions about its feasibility and seriousness given the structural complexity of the problem.
The Syrian Future Movement considers poverty in Syria to be a multi-dimensional structural crisis encompassing the collapse of production, the destruction of infrastructure, the collapse of the value of the Syrian pound, the absence of genuine investment, and the rampant corruption and nepotism. It believes that merely forming ministerial committees and holding workshops (such as the one held on November 24, 2025, with UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme) without immediate and radical reforms will only perpetuate the problem through piecemeal promises that have proven ineffective over the years.
The Syrian Future Movement emphasizes that confronting a catastrophe of this magnitude requires:
- A precise and transparent scientific diagnosis of the root causes, along with the publication of full data and reports for public discussion.
- A comprehensive economic recovery strategy focused on revitalizing the private sector, attracting genuine investment, reforming the financial and banking system, and rebuilding economic confidence, is needed, and should not be limited to temporary social protection programs.
- The strategy must be formulated with broad and genuine participation from independent experts, civil society organizations, and the private sector, avoiding hasty and closed-door approaches.
- Measurable and accountable quantifiable targets must be set for the first three years (such as reducing extreme poverty by at least 20-30% and increasing formal employment by a specific percentage).
- Any strategy must be linked to sustainable domestic and international funding sources, with transparency in resource management.
The Syrian Future Movement calls on the transitional government to respond to the demands of the Syrian people for concrete and urgent measures, not announcements that many perceive as attempts to appease public opinion without fundamental policy changes. Syria does not need hastily prepared and quickly forgotten plans, but rather an ambitious and realistic national vision that rebuilds the economy and society on the foundations of justice, efficiency, transparency, and sustainability.
