UN says 90% of Syrians were living in poverty last year as recovery falls short
The UN Development Programme says 90 per cent of Syrians were living in poverty last year, as a World Food Programme official warns that recovery and funding are not reaching the most vulnerable.
How it was covered
- BBC News was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on post-Assad recovery, poverty and a funding gap for vulnerable Syrians.
- Channel 5, BBC One, Channel 4, GB News, ITV and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
BBC News reported that the United Nations Development Programme said 90 per cent of Syrians were living in poverty last year. The figure was cited in a segment on the cost of living after Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebels led by al-Sharaa.
Matthew Hollingworth, from the World Food Programme, told BBC News he had just visited Aleppo and Homs. He said he saw a remarkable change in a short period. There was still much destruction and poverty, but rebuilding was taking place every day. He described police on the streets in uniforms and a construction-led economic recovery that was slower than needed but happening.
According to BBC News, Hollingworth said poverty was not falling fast enough and humanitarian needs remained very high. More than 6.5 million internally displaced people were starting to go home, but many had little to return to. Former refugees were also returning to difficult conditions.
BBC News reported that three quarters of the displaced population in camps in rural Idlib had gone home since December 2024, with around 700,000 people left. Hollingworth said many families were poor before the war and had no farmland, homes or apartments to return to. Residents asked what the liberation had meant for their lives.
BBC News reported that humanitarian funding had dried up and the state did not have the financing to replace it. Hollingworth said the government was focused on security, the economy and jobs, but social protection and basic services needed to be a top priority. He said mothers were not sending girls to school because they could not afford clothes.
BBC News reported that the World Food Programme could help fewer than 10 per cent of the more than 7 million people facing serious food insecurity. Hollingworth warned that such desperation could be exploited by others and bring more instability to a country that needed to move forward.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| The United Nations Development Programme reported that 90 per cent of Syrians were living in poverty last year. | |
| The World Food Programme was able to help less than 10 per cent of the more than 7 million people facing serious food insecurity in Syria. | |
| World Food Programme official Matthew Hollingworth had visited Aleppo and Homs in the previous week. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The BBC interviewed Matthew Hollingworth of the World Food Programme about his recent visits to Aleppo, Homs and rural Idlib. It balanced signs of reconstruction and security with high poverty, exhausted humanitarian funding and fear that vulnerable people are being left behind. The segment framed the UN's 90 per cent poverty figure around the risk of instability in post-Assad Syria.
- “There is a construction-led economic recovery. It's slower than it needs to be, but it is happening.”
- “And in those camps, people are asking, what liberation was this? Why is it not impacting our lives?”
- “We are only able to help around just less than 10% of the more than 7 million people facing really serious food insecurity.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 10:10 GMT
Matthew Hollingworth, from the World Food Programme
BBC News · Sat 31 Oct - 10:15 GMT
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.