The Minister of International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat and Resident Coordinator of the UN Office in Egypt Elena Panova visited the “Partnership for Improving Prospects for Forcibly Displaced Persons and Host Communities (PROSPECTS)” in Caritas, Al Agamy and the “Restorative Approach to Juvenile Justice: Socio-educative Model of Reintegration and Alternative Measures to Detention” project, as part of the upcoming launch of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023 - 2027.
This also took place in the presence of Major-General Mohamed Taher El-Sherif, Governor of Alexandria, and officials of United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Labor Organization (ILO) , the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Dutch Embassy, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Social Solidarity and relevant national entities.
The PROSPECTS project aims to improve the living standards of refugees and displaced people and develop their communities, by contributing to providing social and economic opportunities, improving education opportunities and providing social protection services. This center opened up in 2021 to serve 8,000 refugees living in Sidi Bishr and Burj Al Arab. Recently, a second center was opened in Sidi Bish in November 2022 to serve refugees residing in this area, as well as in central Alexandria. This serves 12 thousand refugees and asylum seekers from different nationalities.
During the visit, the Minister of International Cooperation was briefed on the results achieved and the services provided by the two programmes, as the PROSPECTS aims to improve the living standards of refugees and immigrants and develop host communities, by contributing to providing social and economic opportunities, improving educational opportunities and providing social protection services.
Through the various initiatives offered by the program, 140,000 children and youth have been enrolled in educational programs, and more than 200,000 people have benefited from protection and integration services, including case management and technical and social support. This is in cooperation between national entities , the International Labor Organization (ILO) , and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The project promotes the achievement of SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth, SDG 17: Partnerships for th Goals. It also comes in line with two pillars of the United Nations Partnership Development Framework (UNPDF) 2018 - 2022 with: Inclusive Economic Development and Social Justice; supporting vulnerable communities and groups including women, children, migrants and refugees by providing necessary services, this project is also in line with the Government of Egypt’s priorities and the National Strategy for Human Rights.
In addition, the Minister visited the Restorative Approach to Juvenile Justice: Socio-educative Model of Reintegration and Alternative Measures to Detention” project, which works to provide support for children in conflict with the law in partnership with national entities, and to enhance the process of social, educational and economic integration, in light of the memorandum of understanding signed between the Government of Egypt and the relevant United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2021 to provide technical support to social welfare institutions in Egypt.
It is worth noting that this project operates in 9 social care institutions across Egypt in the governorates of Alexandria, Beni Suef, Cairo, Giza, and Kafr El Sheikh. The nine institutions host 860 children, including 695 boys and 165 girls to enhance social justice efforts.
This visit is part of the partnership week between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the UN, shedding light on examples of development cooperation programs and projects implemented on ground across sectors, ahead of launching the upcoming partnership for the next 5 years.
The upcoming UNSDCF sets out 5 priorities to be achieved by 2027, namely enhancing human capital, social protection and social justice, promoting inclusive sustainable economic development driven by productivity growth, decent jobs, integrating the informal economy, strengthening resilience to climate change and efficient management of natural resources in a sustainable environment, achieving inclusive equity in safe and equitable access to information, in line with a governance framework characterized by transparency, accountability, efficiency, interaction, and inclusive participation of women and girls, and promoting political and economic empowerment.