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23-02-2025, 10:30 PM
The Director of UN Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Bureau for Arab States on Thurs described 14-yr civil war in Syria as one of deadliest conflicts in recent history, 90% of population in poverty, so far reported is 618,000 lives lost in the conflict, Abdallah Al Dardari said during a virtual new saying 13,000 people (have been) forcibly disappear & don't know their fate yet, Al Dardari said more half of population has been forcibly displaced, with 7.2 million IDPs (internally displaced persons) & 6 million refuges. Economy & economic impact are enormous, he said gross domestic product (GDP) has halved, with "90% of the population" in poverty.
That is 3-times the level of poverty in 2010, & the proportion of people living in extreme poverty today is 66% or 6-times level in 2010, was 11%. Noting more than 16 mil Syrians still depend on food assistance, he said food insecurity stands at 52%. On energy production, Al Dardari said: 80% of country's energy capacity has been lost, & 70% of power plants are damaged. He noted Syria has lost 40 years of human development. We believe there is a chance for recovery, UN is working on a transitional recovery framework, Al Dardari shared recovery scenarios suggesting a return to 2010 GDP levels in 55 yrs at 1.3% annual growth or 10 years at 7.6% growth. All these scenarios are difficult, clearly, we can see the status quo is untenable. he said.
There's no population, Syria cannot wait 55 yrs to go back to a situation was not satisfactory in 2010, proposed a $36 bil investment plan and said: It requires rebuilding infrastructure. It requires macro economic stabilisation, with exchange rates as are today, the foreign reserves depleted from almost $23.5 bil to less than a billion dollars today. He further emphasized need for massive investments, governance reforms int'l support to achieve economic stability development in Syria. Bashar al-Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 yrs, fled to Russia on Dec 8, ending Baath Party's regime in power since 1963. Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the leader of the new Syrian admin was appointed on Jan 29 as president, tasked Mohammed Al-Bashir with forming a govt to oversee Syria's transitional period.
That is 3-times the level of poverty in 2010, & the proportion of people living in extreme poverty today is 66% or 6-times level in 2010, was 11%. Noting more than 16 mil Syrians still depend on food assistance, he said food insecurity stands at 52%. On energy production, Al Dardari said: 80% of country's energy capacity has been lost, & 70% of power plants are damaged. He noted Syria has lost 40 years of human development. We believe there is a chance for recovery, UN is working on a transitional recovery framework, Al Dardari shared recovery scenarios suggesting a return to 2010 GDP levels in 55 yrs at 1.3% annual growth or 10 years at 7.6% growth. All these scenarios are difficult, clearly, we can see the status quo is untenable. he said.
There's no population, Syria cannot wait 55 yrs to go back to a situation was not satisfactory in 2010, proposed a $36 bil investment plan and said: It requires rebuilding infrastructure. It requires macro economic stabilisation, with exchange rates as are today, the foreign reserves depleted from almost $23.5 bil to less than a billion dollars today. He further emphasized need for massive investments, governance reforms int'l support to achieve economic stability development in Syria. Bashar al-Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 yrs, fled to Russia on Dec 8, ending Baath Party's regime in power since 1963. Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the leader of the new Syrian admin was appointed on Jan 29 as president, tasked Mohammed Al-Bashir with forming a govt to oversee Syria's transitional period.
