UNDP Syria

• Goal 1
• Goal 2
• Goal 3
• Goal 4
• Goal 5
• Goal 6
• Goal 7
• Goal 8

Main Findings:

The MDGs aim to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and expand global partnerships for development. In September 2000 Syria committed to achieving these eight time-bound goals, including 60 associated indicators.

The overall aim of the 2010 Country MDG Report is to capture Syria’s progress towards the MDGs, highlight the new realities that impact achievement of the MDGs and address the challenges and strategic policy interventions as we progress towards 2015. Additionally, the report was drafted (amongst 30 other countries) to provide country-level based evidence for the preparation of an MDG Synthesis Report to be presented as a key UNDP input to the UN High Level Plenary Meeting “MDG Summit” in September 2010.

As with most countries in the Arab region, water resources are already stretched to their limits. In Syria, the depletion of water resources as a result of recent successive seasons of drought and ensuing land deterioration have negatively affected agricultural productivity, income levels and in many cases led to internal migration shifts- hence contributing to the process of “urbanization of poverty”. Thus while multiple factors define the incidence of poverty in Syria- climatic changes, as a result of degradation to the ecosystem and the accompanying desertification, have had one of the strongest influences on poverty dynamics. Accordingly, the major challenge faced by Syria to achieve the MDGs lies in the area of poverty reduction and the environment.

Gains in education, in particular on ensuring access to primary education for all and corresponding enrolment with decreases in the gender gap, have brought Syria on track towards achievement of MDG2. However, there are issues with quality and problems of primary education drop-out rates. Significant reductions in rates of child mortality (infant and under-5) have exceeded specified annual MDG targets at the national level, but sub-national variations continue with Raqa in particular off track.

Likewise, while maternal mortality rates are on the decline nationally; a major challenge remains related to equal distribution of services in a way that reduces geographical disparities.

Overall the report shows that the MDGs are attainable, but highlights regional disparities as a cross cutting theme in achieving the MDGs in Syria, and the specific challenges of reaching poverty reduction and environmental targets. Addressing those two challenges will be the main policy challenge framing Syria’s efforts to achieve the MDGs by 2015. The report therefore discusses the current status of MDGs and their prospects approaching 2015 in the broader context of poverty, environment challenges, regional disparities, and inequality which impact all of the MDGs in Syria.
 

Eradicate Extreme Poverty & Hunger (MDG 1)

Syria has achieved insufficient progress with regards to halving extreme poverty. The findings show that poverty reduction in Syria has been concentrated mainly in urban areas. Accordingly, the extreme national poverty rate in urban areas fell from 12.6% to 9.9% between 1996/1997 and 2006/2007; while this rate fell only from 16% to 15.1% in rural areas. Hence, extreme poverty in Syria does remain largely a rural phenomenon. However, it was the urban Southern region which experienced the largest increase in extreme poverty since 2004 (its poverty incidence in 2007 is almost twice that of 2004). Accordingly, this region, which had the lowest levels of poverty in 2004, became the second poorest region in 2007. The report argues this is directly related to the impact of successive droughts and the ensuing pattern of rural-urban migration from the North Eastern rural region to the Southern urban region.

Improvement in the Poverty Gap Ratio – which determines the depth and spread of poverty below the lower poverty line- has been evident between the years 1997 and 2007. The poverty gap ratio was reduced from 2.88% to reach 1.97% in 2007, surpassing the target for that year (2.1%). These low figures reveal the shallowness of poverty in Syria thus suggesting substantial scope for future poverty reduction. In line with the improvement in the poverty gap, the share of the poorest quintile (20% of the population) in total household expenditure rose from 7.91% in 1997 to 8.17% in 2007, indicating a slight improvement in the distribution of household consumption expenditure.

This improvement in the relative expenditure of the poorest 20% of the population is mirrored in the rapid decline in the proportion of the population below the food poverty line (which declined from 3.6% to 1.2% from 1996 to 2007). The decrease in the proportion of underweight children (under-five years of age) also suggests Syria is on track with regards to reaching the target of halving hunger. Thus although extreme poverty did not decline significantly since the mid 1990s, there was a notable improvement in the conditions of the poorest of the poor.

Finally, the 17.5% increase of the population in Syria between 2001 and 2008, was accompanied by a fall in the share of the population employed (from 46.6% to 44.8%) due to difficulties encountered by the economy in creating the requisite number of new jobs to absorb an increase in working age population (250,000 new entrants into the labor force annually). The above phenomenon has been accompanied by a reduction of the share of youth amongst the employed population from 30.8% in 2001 to 20.4% in 2008.



Achieve Universal Primary Education (MDG2)

The report shows that net enrollment ratio in primary education for the age group (6-11 years of age) increased from 95.4% in 1990 to 98% in 2006 and then to 99% in 2008. Hence, Syria is on track to reach the target by 2015. In respect to quality however, the picture is less promising. The proportion of students starting grade 1 who reach fifth grade of primary education, rose from 93% in 1990 to 95.3% in 2008, which means that progress has been limited over this 18-year span. It is evident that the progress in Syria is slow and off track in achieving this aspect of the goal. The values of the indicators show the level of progress achieved regarding the accessibility dimension of educational services; but highlights the quality dimension, which still requires additional efforts.


Promote Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (MDG3)

On all levels (primary, secondary, and university), gender disparities in education were reduced. In primary education, the girls to boys’ ratio rose from 90.3% in 2004 to 92.4% in 2008. According to the Basic Education Law no. 32 dated 2002, both primary and elementary levels of education are merged into basic education. In this regard, compulsory primary education is free for all school-age children ages 6 to 11 years. The ratio of girls to boys reached 95.6% as of 2009. These recent developments suggest that target is attainable in the near future.

The ratio of girls to boys increased substantially in secondary education reaching 112% in 2008, and witnessed a rise at the University level education to reach 90% in 2008. Yet, it fell in vocational education from 70% in 1990 to 66% in 2008. This last figure illustrates the points that are made in the following paragraph highlighting the fact that the improvement in education has not led to similarly impressive improvements in women’s economic and political participation rates.

It was also found that the percentage of women in wage employment in the service sector rose from 21% in 1991 to 29% in 2007. As for women participation in parliament, it witnessed a major increase since the first legislative term in 1971 which was at 2%, to 9.6% in the fifth term from 1990 to 1994, and rising again in the ninth term to 12.4% from 2007 to 2011. The participation of women in leadership positions in the government is still at a low of 7% for ministers and ambassadors, and 20% in professional positions

Reduce Child Mortality (MDG4 )

Investing in the health and growth of children is considered one of the national priorities in Syria, and accordingly the country has succeeded in achieving significant reduction in rates of child mortality (both under-five mortality and infant mortality rates). The under-five mortality rate fell from 41.7 for every 1000 live births in 1993 to 18.9 in 2008. If this trend is continued then the MDG target will be met even before 2015.

An important component and contributing factor to the above pertains to the proportion of one year old children immunized against measles. The National Immunization Program is considered one of the most important public health programs since it is the most efficient method followed to decrease the incidence of child diseases. On the national level, the proportion of children who have completed the whole immunization schedule has risen from 73.3% in 1993 to 87.8% in 2006. Additionally, the proportion of coverage for infants against measles reached 92.4% in 2006 compared to 83.5% in 1993. This trend suggests that Syria is capable of exceeding the target with regard to proportion of one year olds immunized against measles.



Improve Maternal Health (MDG5)

Women in their reproductive age (15-49) constitute 51% of the total number of women in Syria. At the national level, the ratio of maternal mortality fell from 107 deaths for each 100,000 live births in 1993 to 56 in 2008. This indicates that Syria has achieved substantial progress similar to other middle-income Arab countries such as Jordan and Morocco.

At the sub-national level, disparities still exist between governorates. Figures show that the Eastern region is the most vulnerable, with decreasing economic and educational levels, and an increasing ratio of births at home and births attended by traditional midwives. Given the progress so far, and despite continuing geographical disparities on the regional level in Syria, especially in the Eastern region, it is possible for Syria to achieve the target by continuing its efforts.

In 2006, 29.6% of births, especially in rural areas, took place at home with midwives still playing an important role in rural areas of the country. On the national level, the proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel rose from 76.8% in 1993 to 94.5% in 2008. This signals impressive progress, but problems with regards to maternal care in rural areas however, still need to be more vigorously tackled.

The provision of antenatal coverage is considered one of the priorities of the health sector in the field of reproductive health, which includes health education for pregnant women covering all the changes related to pregnancy and breast feeding in addition to medical checkups. Antenatal care has developed during the period from 1993 to 2006 with the rate of coverage rising from 50.3% in 1993 to 84% in 2006. The results of the multi-indicators survey for 2006 show that the percentage of unmet needs for family planning tools was higher in rural areas than urban areas, where it was 13.4% and 9.2% respectively. This unmet need is a result of an increase in demand, obstacles in service provision, lack of support from local communities and husbands, incorrect information, financial costs and transport difficulties.



Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases (MDG6)

With respect to HIV/AIDS, the main age group of concern is that of (15-24) years old who represent 22% of the total population. They are considered among the most vulnerable, with 34% of the virus cases registered within this group. With reference to the indicator pertaining to the proportion of population in age group (15-24) with comprehensive correct knowledge of HIV/AIDS, the following has been found. According to data from the quantitative study for youth empowerment and community participation for 2008, more than 75% of the youth of the sample had knowledge and information on AIDS as a result of media campaigns. However, the level of knowledge was higher in urban areas than in rural areas.

The results of a multi-indicator survey in 2006 shows clear and strong signs of stigma against HIV infected people. Women in particular exhibited this stigma in their answers with 41.4% of women saying that they would prefer to keep the infection of a family member secret, 54.5% believing that an infected teacher should not be allowed to work and 72.5% saying that they would refuse to buy food from a person who they knew was HIV positive.

These results suggest that there is still much room for progress in raising awareness over the nature of HIV/AIDS to ensure that infected individuals are not marginalized. Moreover, to achieve universal access to treatment of HIV/AIDS for those who need it by 2015 should not be a difficult goal for Syria to fulfill as it is a low HIV/AIDS incidence country (less than 0.1% as of 2005).

With respect to halting, by 2015, and reducing the incidences of malaria and other diseases, it is noted that the country has succeeded in eradicating malaria. Yet, tuberculosis is on the rise, with the number of deaths rising from 86 in 2002 to 111 in 2007.



Ensure Environmental Sustainability (MDG7)

Although historically, the proportion of land area covered by forest was at 15%, during the twentieth century and in particular during the second half of it, this proportion declined drastically as a result of excessive deforestation. The figure stood at 3% in 2007 but the government has set a target of increasing the land area of forests to 3.86% by 2015.

C02 emissions have more than doubled from 25 to 59 million tonnes between 1990 and 2005. This trend has slowed down considerably in recent years with the figure only projected to increase to 60 million tons in 2010. Nonetheless, the high levels of carbon emission are still problematic and need to be addressed.

For 2008 the water deficit stood at around 2.4 billion cubic meters. This is mainly due to the rise of demand on surface and ground water for agricultural use with around 89% of the water being used by the Syrian irrigation network. Therefore, measures to promote more efficient water use in agriculture, need to be pursued in order to reduce the water deficit without negatively affecting agricultural production.

There has been steady improvement in the availability of drinking water in Syria. The percentage of the population using improved drinking-water sources went from 65.6% in 1990, 85% in 2000 to 92% in 2007. This means that Syria has achieved in advance the attainable value of the target. As for the proportion of population using an improved sanitation it stood at 55% (Urban 75.5, Rural 34.5) in 1990, increased to 73.8 (Urban 94.5, Rural 45.3) and recent data indicated that it reached 82.4 (Urban 95, Rural 65) in 2009. This indicator highlights the significant urban-rural disparities that are also reflected in other indicators, thus suggesting that government efforts need to be especially focused on alleviating the situation in rural areas. Indeed, the value targeted by the GoS for drinking water was 100% which exceeded the MDG target of 82.8% and similarly value targeted by the GoS for sanitation was 85% which exceeded the MDG target of 77.5%. It is noteworthy that the GoS has included improving sanitation facilities as a priority in the Tenth FYP.

The proportion of urban population living in slums stood at 26% in 2004 thus posing a major environmental and social problem. Although the majority of indicators related to housing in slums fall within the acceptable numerical boundaries (from a quantitative aspect), the quality, structural safety, and population density of these areas, do not fall within any acceptable boundaries.

Develop a Global Partnership for Development (MDG8)

MGDs: Challenges and Strategic Interventions

Deterioration of natural resources is considered one of the basic features of poverty. This is most apparent in rural agricultural systems where depletion or contamination of water resources, land deterioration, or the death of livestock are risks affecting agricultural productivity and the level of income, which in most cases leads to an increase in poverty. The situation is further aggravated as the material resources of rural populations are often invested in economic activities that depend completely on natural resources. Therefore, poor management of environmental resources, resulting in desertification, drought, soil salinization, depletion of water resources, deterioration of biodiversity and occurrence of natural disasters (e.g. forest fires) all lead to the loss of resources and consequently an increase in the prevalence of poverty.. As a result, the number of poor people migrating to urban areas increases in order to search for work, whilst they increase in numbers and problems, This is what happened in 2009 for a significant number of residents from the Northeastern regions of Syria; their migration resulted in an increase in poverty, a reduction in educational attainment, a worsening in the health level of these segments of the society and an increase in the proportion of poor people in urban areas. The poor in urban areas often live in slums, which are prone to environmental dangers resulting from the poor quality of air and the contamination of drinking water which has a negative impact on their public health. In turn, these problems contribute to an increase in the depletion of the already small material resources for the poor segment of society.

In order to tackle these environmental problems, it is suggested that clear national policies are formulated to address environmental emergencies and reduce environmental pollution. Additionally, there needs to be greater focus on sustainable rural development and disaster management.

Despite the importance of economic growth, the expected poverty outcomes for Syria are extremely sensitive towards changes in the distribution of income. As a result, the redistributive policies are considered vital for achieving poverty reduction. As the economic urban-rural gap is still large in Syria, it is also clear that rural development policies play a major role in limiting inequality. This challenge requires adoption of a pro-poor growth strategy, aiming at achieving a high rate of growth in GDP while at the same time, increasing the level of equality in the distribution of income and reducing the prevalence of poverty. Pro-poor policies include two groups of policies; the first is concerned with empowering the poor and enhancing their participation in social and economic life, while the second is concerned with integrating least developed regions in economic activities.