EU Support to Egypt's National Population Strategy
For the first time, Egypt's 2014 Constitution guarantees equal political and economic rights for all population groups with a commitment to improving quality of life and public health. Egypt has been actively engaged in preparing and negotiating the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Government of Egypt remains committed to the effective implementation of these historical agreements through mutually beneficial cooperation to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth, in order to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities, while ensuring that none is left behind. In alignment with the 2030 Agenda, Egypt launched its own strategy for sustainable development; "Egypt Vision 2030."
This forward-looking strategy is unprecedented in its scope and significance at the national level and spans over the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.
The EU Support to Egypt’s National Population Strategy, having on board six partners from Egypt, started its 5-year implementation on April 2018. With an EU grant of 27 million Euros, the project brings together partners from different sectors, namely health, social solidarity, youth and sport, education, and media in order to reach its overall objective of contributing to lowering Egypt's population growth rate. More specifically, the project aims at increasing the use of voluntary, rights based family planning though improved supply of family planning services and commodities, increasing demand for family planning, and enhancing population governance.
The project was officially launched on March 4th, 2019 by the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation, with UNFPA, the EU, the Ministry of Health and Population and the National Population Council.
The project is based on strong partnerships with relevant national authorities and succeeded to push the population growth agenda as a number one priority in the country.
As the partnership established with the Ministry of Health and Population expands and integrates quality family planning services at both primary and secondary levels and within different programs, first steps were taken in this direction as well as by creating awareness on the importance of small family size and availability of quality family planning services.
Family planning commodities were procured for the country and the initial step for the establishment of a family planning commodity security strategy will be further developed within the project.
At the same time, the partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports allowed access to young people and population of reproductive age with family planning related messages through the use of edutainment and through empowering young people. Sports for development, music for development as well as theatre-based peer education were among the techniques used.
Additional partnership with a religious NGO and a faith-based organization allowed the project to capacitate religious leaders from both Coptic and Muslim to address their followers on the importance of family planning and small family concepts.
National costed implementation plan for family planning developed and implemented
Result 2
Supply chain management strengthened in order to enhance quality of care and support choice of methods by reducing contraceptives' stockouts and equipment
FP services/supply extended to women whose mobility is constrained by social norms (14,000 MoHP Outreach Workers trained as a Community Health Workers (CHW)
Result 8
FP extended to "women health clubs" revitalized as FP clinics (2,500)
Result 9
Accreditation and award system for Ministry of Health and Population family planning clinics in place
Outcome
02
Youth and population in reproductive age educated on family planning, public awareness on the value of smaller family size raised (demand side)
Result 1
Comprehensive population education introduced in educational system
Result 2
Entertainment education utilised in in school and out of school settings
Result 3
60,000,000 people reached with a comprehensive media campaign on all platforms – digital, electronic, print, and audio – to educate the public on population, Family Planning issues and to promote small family concept
Result 4
Marriage databases, birth registers, other relevant databases linked with FP delivery points and providing newly married couples/ new parents with FP information
Result 5
Awareness of religious/ community leaders on population, FP issues raised
Outcome
03
Institutional capacities for monitoring and coordination of the implementation of the NPS strengthened (population governance)
Result 1
A national high-level inter-ministerial Population Task-force and population task-forces at governorate-level established and coordinating National Population Strategy implementation;
Result 2
National Population Council managed National Population Strategy monitoring/reporting system activated.
Project funded by the European Union.
This webpage has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this page are the sole responsibility of UNFPA and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
