UNFPA held two rounds of edutainment and community awareness events in Qaliubiya in partnership with Amer Group, funded by the European Union.

The activities come as part of UNFPA’s strategic partnership with the private sector, which builds on partners’ workforce and client base to further UNFPA’s mandate and achieve the three transformative results; zero maternal mortality, zero unmet need for family planning and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices.

In Qaliubiya, the two-day activities aimed at raising awareness of local communities on population issues including child marriage, FGM, and family planning through seminars and interactive theatre performances. Around 400 people participated in the events.

The theatre performances were written and performed by community members, while the awareness seminars were conducted by specialized doctors to educate participants about sexual and reproductive health topics.

In 2018, UNFPA launched its partnership with the private sector through its partnership with Egyptian Federation of Industries as well as Amer Group among others.

The private sector funds and expertise are channeled to address developmental challenges identified by UNFPA under its Country Programme.

Through the partnership with Amer Group, UNFPA got access to 52,000 employees to be trained on sexual and reproductive health issues.

The edutainment activities come as part of the “EU support of Egypt's National Population Strategy,” with the support of an EU-grant of 27 Million Euros.

The 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.