The Syrian Future Movement welcomes the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Syrian Planning and Statistics Commission and the World Food Programme (WFP) on March 9, 2026, to implement the “Strengthening National Evidence Systems through the Household Income, Expenditure, and Consumption Survey” (HIECS), the first of its kind since 2009. We view this step as a positive and important development in rebuilding national statistical capacities after decades of decline and distortion in statistical systems resulting from authoritarianism, war, and foreign interventions.
The Syrian Future Movement considers this survey an essential tool for providing accurate, up-to-date, and representative data covering all Syrian households across the various governorates. This will enable the measurement of true living standards, the monitoring of poverty rates with scientific accuracy, and the objective calculation of inflation indicators. This follows the completion of the ninth phase of the Household Food Security Survey in January 2026, reflecting the beginning of a restoration of confidence in national statistical production.
The Syrian Future Movement asserts that the absence of such surveys since 2009 has contributed to deepening the economic and social crisis, as policies have relied on inaccurate or biased estimates, exacerbating poverty and deteriorating living standards.
According to previous international reports (such as those by ESCWA and the World Bank prior to 2025), poverty rates in Syria exceeded 80-90% at certain times, with a collapse in purchasing power and a decline in real income.
Therefore, we believe that the availability of up-to-date HIECS data will enable the design of effective medium-term social protection strategies, the preparation of voluntary reports for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and support for relevant ministries in developing their annual programs and plans.
The Syrian Future Movement emphasizes the importance of conducting this survey with the highest standards of transparency, independence, and professionalism, taking into account the geographical, social, and economic diversity of Syrian society, and using the latest international methodologies and data collection tablets, as planned, over a 12-month period starting in the second quarter of 2026 to account for seasonal variations. We also call for the broad participation of hundreds of trained field researchers, while ensuring the protection of family privacy and data confidentiality.
In this context, the Syrian Future Movement calls for:
- Strengthening the independence of the Planning and Statistics Commission and developing its institutional capacities to become a reliable national reference point, free from any political or regional influence.
- Linking the survey results to fundamental economic reforms, including income redistribution, combating multidimensional poverty, and promoting social inclusion, within the framework of the transitional phase and UN Security Council Resolution 2254.
- Expanding cooperation with international organizations such as the World Food Programme and the United Nations, while preserving national sovereignty in data use and policy formulation.
- Involving civil society and independent Syrian experts in monitoring implementation and analyzing results, to ensure that data serves as a tool for social justice and not for reinforcing the status quo.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that the Syria of the future we are working towards needs honest and transparent statistics as the foundation for effective public policies, to build a sustainable national economy that restores dignity to the Syrian citizen and achieves social justice and comprehensive development.
