Senior officials from the European Union (EU) Delegation to Egypt and UNFPA, accompanied by a number of Egyptian journalists, conducted a visit to Aswan to follow up on the progress of the EU Support to Egypt’s National Population Strategy project.

Ambassador Christian Berger, Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt and Frederika Meijer, UNFPA Representative in Egypt, visited the Al-Khazan Gharb clinic, where they met with service providers as well as women seeking services.

Later in the day, a musical performance titled “Penguins,” was conducted, aiming at raising the awareness of community members on the concept of small family size and family planning.

The performance is the product of workshops conducted at Population Awareness Clubs (PACs), with the help of Zad Art Team, who coached volunteers on developing theatrical scripts and songs to raise the awareness of their communities on various issues including female genital mutilation (FGM), family planning and gender-based violence (GBV).

Population Awareness Clubs operate in different Youth Centers around the country, hosting awareness activities around population issues for young people using innovative tools, including music, interactive theatre and short films.

Under the EU project, young people in reproductive age are educated on reproductive health issues through the use if edutainment with the support of an EU-grant of 27 Million Euros.

The EU Support to the Egypt’s National Population Strategy project aims at increasing the use of voluntary, rights-based family planning through improved supply of family planning services and commodities, increased demand for family planning, and enhanced governance for implementation of the National Population Strategy. It will ultimately benefit Egyptians of reproductive age who will have more choices regarding the size of their families, as well as the timing and spacing of children.