● The project integrates with the National Project for Egyptian Family Development and has achieved many results to enhance the country’s efforts to confront population growth
● Close cooperation between the EU, UNFPA and national bodies has contributed to expanding the scope of family planning services and increasing awareness campaigns and capacity building programs.
● Enhancing human investment is at the forefront of the objectives of the Ministry of International Cooperation’s international partnerships, in line with the country’s development vision.
The Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Participates in the Closing Ceremony of the European Union Support Project for the National Population Strategy in Egypt with a Grant Worth €27 million, and implemented by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in partnership with the relevant national authorities, ministries of health, population, youth and sports, social solidarity, education and technical education, planning and economic development, and the National Population Council, in the presence of their excellencies Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population, Nevin Al-Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity, and Ms. Elena Panova, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt, Ambassador Christian Berger, Head of the European Union Delegation in Cairo, representatives of the German Agency for International Cooperation, the Ministries of Youth, Sports and Planning, and others.
Al-Mashat stressed the importance of cooperation with the EU and the UNFPA in implementing the project to support the National Population Strategy, which reflects the importance of multilateral cooperation in supporting the state’s efforts in various fields, explaining that over the course of the project and through cooperation with international partners and entities many national results have been achieved, most notably the provision of family planning services, building the capabilities of national agencies to enable employees to provide awareness services in clinics and health units, as well as enhancing access to the most needy groups through mobile clinics.
Al-Mashat indicated, in her video speech that the importance of the project implemented with the European Union and the UNFPA lies in its integration with the National Project for the Development of the Egyptian Family, which was launched by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt in February 2022. The project enhances the country’s efforts in facing the challenge of population increase will affect development efforts, through a set of activities and interventions that take into account the social, economic and health dimensions, through 3 main axes that have been worked on: 1) Expanding the scope of providing family planning services and facilitating access to them, 2) Educating and sensitizing young people about family planning and increasing public awareness, 3) Building institutional capacities to follow up on the implementation of the National Population Strategy.
Al-Mashat applauded the efforts made by development partners, represented by the EU and the UNFPA, in implementing the project, in line with the comprehensive efforts made by the government to regulate population growth, pointing out the keenness of the Ministry of International Cooperation to advance efforts with all partners to achieve sustainable development priorities in various fields, especially social protection for women, children and families in the villages most in need, by increasing investment in human capital and advancing cooperation with the government and private sectors.
Al-Mashat stated that enhancing investment in human capital is at the forefront of the objectives of the Ministry of International Cooperation, when launching or updating national strategies with multilateral and bilateral development partners, noting that in light of the strategic framework for partnership with the United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDCF) for the period from 2023-2027, the project that we are discussing today falls under two main axes. The first is enhancing investment in human capital by providing equal access to good services, enhancing protection and social justice, and the second is empowering women and girls by empowering them with their social, health and living rights.
H.E. added that the project succeeded, during the period from April 2018 to March 2022, in enhancing access to more women and girls to benefit from family planning advisory services. The mobile clinics succeeded for more than 208,000 women, and 135,000 women obtained family planning methods. The project also contributed to raising awareness among young people. H.E. stressed that all these efforts are consistent with the vision of the political leadership in Egypt towards advancing investment in human capital and caring for citizens as a priority to achieve comprehensive economic development, raise the standard of living, and develop capabilities and skills in various fields.
H.E. pointed out that the programs being implemented in light of international partnerships to enhance investment in human capital in various sectors amount to 39 programs worth $2.8 billion, made available by many development partners, including the World Bank, the European Union, France, and the United States of America and others. The value of the cooperation between Egypt and the EU through development grants in various fields, as the current portfolio of cooperation between the two sides is about €1.3 billion.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of International Cooperation, earlier this week, launched the annual report for the year 2023 under the title “Platforms for Policy & Practice,” which includes details and results of international partnerships implemented during the year 2023, as well as an executive summary of the most prominent achievements during the period from 2020 to 2023.
More information about the annual report