Dr Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, and Elena Panova, UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt, conducted a visit to UNFPA-supported projects in Aswan on March 11 as part of UN Week, highlighting development projects and programs being implemented as a result of the United Nations Partnership Development Framework (UNPDF) 2018-2022.

The delegation, which included Germaine Haddad, UNFPA Assistant Representative, and Major General Ashraf Attia, Governor of Aswan, stopped by the Biyara healthcare unit, which offers family planning and reproductive health services under the European Union Support to Egypt’s National Population Strategy project with the Ministry of Health and Population.

The project aims to scale up family planning services including contraceptive commodities and making them more accessible, educate youth and population in reproductive age on family planning, and strengthen the institutional capacities for monitoring and coordination of the implementation of the National Population Strategy.

Next, the delegation visited the Kom Ombo Youth Center, where they attended a theatre performance tackling child marriage and gender equality. The performance is developed and performed by the Nawah Theatre Team as part of the Population Awareness Clubs with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Etijah Youth and Development Consultancy Institute.

The Population Awareness Clubs act as hubs for raising awareness on population issues, through interactive and innovative methods such as music and theatre to communicate messages to the communities and operate in youth centers around Egypt.

There are currently over 400 Population Awareness Clubs supported by the European Union in Egypt, Royal Norwegian Embassy in Cairo, Embassy of Canada to Egypt, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, KOICA Egypt and the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Program on the Elimination of FGM.

Dr. Al-Mashat indicated the importance of the efforts made with the UNFPA in light of the previous strategic framework, and its continuation through the country program with the UNSDCF 2023-2027.

On her part, Haddad, said, "Today we saw how reproductive health issues require a multi-pronged approach. UNFPA works with the Ministry of Health and Population to provide quality reproductive health and family planning services so that women have a choice over the number and spacing of their children. That is done through training family planning service providers, conducting outreach campaigns, offering youth-friendly services and raising the awareness of women among other things. UNFPA also works with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to enable young people with the skills and knowledge needed to make informed decisions about their bodies, their health and their lives, as well as build their capacities to become agents of change in their communities. It is through this comprehensive approach that we can achieve the 2030 agenda.”

Ahead of the launch of the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2027, the Ministry of International Cooperation and the UN Country Team in Egypt, are leading field visits to UN-supported projects across Egypt.