UNDP Syria

Introduction The MDGs are a set of eight goals to be achieved by 2015 by the 189 nations that signed the Millennium Declaration during the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000. These objectives respond to the world’s current development challenges:
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Throughout the Middle East, souqs have historically been the center of a city’s culture and livelihood. Centuries of wear and tear, however, have taken their toll on many of the region’s traditional marketplaces. Until recently, such was the case in the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, where the...
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On the barren landscape of the North-Eastern Syrian plains, a splash of bright blue catches the eye. It is not the flowing waters of the mighty Euphrates, but a symbol nonetheless of the water that lies below the surface of this harsh terrain. Local Bedouin and their livestock gather around a...
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The “Poverty Alleviation and Women's Empowerment” programme, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in cooperation with the MoSAL, endeavors to reduce internal migration and population concentration in major cities by creating employment and business opportunities in...
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By Annika Folkeson On a little farm in Ruha, rural Sweida, one finds something as sophisticated as a biogas digester. With the manure from only three cows, farmer Jamil Abu Darahamein can produce enough biogas for two households – and perhaps more when they figure out how to store the gas.
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  “Plastic contains chemicals, chemicals give you cancer, and from cancer you die”, Tamara, 12, explains in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Her reply is the correct answer to the three-question quiz distributed to the children at Sabarin school...
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On December 5th, approximately 125 volunteers set out into various neighborhoods all over Damascus to clean up the city. After leaving the meeting place of Melab Al-Fayhat at 8.30 in the morning, they dispersed into Sumaria, Kafr Souseh, the Old City, Mezze and Baramkeh - equipped with plastic...
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Not far from the bustling city of Aleppo in the north-east lies one of Syria’s most impoverished regions, where approximately 58% of the country’s poor live. Within this region is Jabal Al-Hoss, a rural community home to over 157 villages, with a population hovering around 250,000. While...
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Women of Jabal Al-Hoss, one of Syria’s poorest areas on the outskirts of Aleppo, are viewed as non-productive burdens on the society and are thus deprived from accessing education, inheritance and land ownership. Current statistics show that women in Syria still noticeably lag behind their male...
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  In the recent Syrian parliamentary elections held on 22-23rd April 2007, 31 of the 250 parliamentary seats were filled by women and female parliamentarians have gained positions in the twelve parliament committees. Of those women, 17 or 55% participated in a regional project, launched in...
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National Agricultural Policy Centre analyst Mahmoud Al-Shreef slaps the palm of his hand to hammer home his point: “Many of our farmers are no longer looking for ways to improve production or investigating alternative crops,” he says. “Some of this state support has affected the land...
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Over thousands of years, Syria has witnessed the birth of several civilizations; people from all over the world moved to settle in the fertile land, mild climate and perfect geographical location in between three continents. However, throughout history, several natural disasters struck the...
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Syria has undergone a fundamental change in its thinking towards economic and social development in the past few years, a recent UNDP-Syria sponsored workshop heard. From Right: Minister of Economy and Trade - Amer Lutfi, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs - Abdallah Al-Dardari, and...
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“The Quran demands us to use our mind, not just to depend on ancient traditions, and take new ideas and adapt them to the present. Through our preaching we can encourage people to use their minds to think”, states Suad Tershan, a dentist assistant , who teaches in the Abu Bakr Asadiq mosque...
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