Syria Today | A Complex Challenge

A Complex Challenge

By Joma’a Hijazi
Photo Carole al-Farah

The issues of poverty and poverty alleviation strategies are major challenges for economic and social policy makers around the globe. These challenges are of greater importance for economies in transition, as the vulnerable part of society is the first to be impacted by the economic structural adjustments and economic liberalisation policies necessary for ensuring sustainable growth.

Measures to redesign the country’s subsidy strategies, the opening of the market which has provided consumers with greater access to commodities, price liberalisation and moves to redefine the role of the state as a primary provider of job opportunities – combined with drought and unfavourable climate conditions – have deepened the impression that the vulnerable are being excluded from the benefits of the country’s growth. Before developing assumptions, however, one needs to understand the nature of poverty in Syria and how the government is approaching it.

Analysing poverty in Syria, three key findings emerge: (i) with the exception of the rural, north-eastern and coastal areas, poverty in Syria is relatively shallow, implying that changes in growth may have important effects on poverty numbers; (ii) low education is the main underlying cause of poverty with 81 percent of the poor being illiterate or only having a primary education; (iii) while employment is dominated by the private sector, especially in rural areas, private sector workers are more likely to be poorer than public sector workers. Moreover, the informal sector seems to be the main source of employment for the poor, as it provides jobs to uneducated and unskilled workers.

Taking into consideration the findings mentioned above, the government has developed a multilevel approach to the poverty challenge in Syria. It is an approach based on the belief that in order to ensure the welfare of society, the country is first required to generate wealth. Thus, the cornerstone of the government’s approach has consisted of deepening the economic adjustments to produce the macroeconomic balances required to create sustainable growth, the spillovers of which will positively impact on all of society.

The government is implementing multidimensional strategies to achieve economic reforms centred on reforming its fiscal and monetary policies, encouraging domestic and foreign investment by improving the business environment, and empowering the private sector to play a greater role in the development process. This approach will set in place the economic foundations which will generate more sustainable growth in jobs, productivity and incomes for the poorest groups.

Investing in education and public health is a second element in the government’s poverty reduction strategy. Education in itself is a major challenge. To face this challenge, substantial efforts have been undertaken to increase the access vulnerable groups have to basic and primary education, as well as to reform the entire educational system to ensure graduates meet the requirements of the job market. In health, the government has worked to increase the footprint of public health by investing heavily in public water and sanitation systems and primary health care in all regions.

The third pillar in the government’s approach centres on developing social safety nets to better protect the most vulnerable, especially those who are unable to obtain sufficient incomes via the labour market. This is why the National Social Aid Fund has been created. At the same time, parallel programmes have been developed for unemployed people, enabling them to generate sufficient incomes and to empower their entrepreneurship capacities.

The final pillar in the government’s approach consists of developing a regional balance to ensure that growing regional disparities in incomes, opportunities and services are reversed. To do so, a new approach to regional planning has been adopted.

Poverty is a complex and challenging issue – it should be faced objectively and responsibly. In the case of Syria, poverty is not linked to a lack of resources. Rather, it is linked to a lack of opportunities. A responsible approach needs to insist on creating the adequate conditions to ensure better incomes and opportunities for everyone – men and women – in the future.

Joma’a Hijazi is the head of the economic technical team at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs.