A delegation from UNFPA Egypt, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, as well as the Swiss Embassy in Egypt, paid a visit on June 7 to the Safe Space in Aswan operated by UNFPA in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and in partnership with Etijah.

The Safe Space is one of two in Aswan, and one of 11 in six governorates around Egypt.

UNFPA Egypt offers comprehensive gender-based violence against women and girls services for refugees through the Safe Spaces operated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Etijah. The Safe Spaces provide case management services, mental health and psychosocial support services, emergency housing support, legal and medical services, reproductive health services, as well as vocational skills training.

The delegation included UNFPA Representative in Egypt Frederika Meijer, Vice Director and Head of MENA - Europe Division at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Ambassador Andrea Studer, Ambassador  of Switzerland in Egypt Yvonne Baumann, and Deputy Head of Operations at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Markus Schrader, Deputy Head of MENA- Europe Division at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Claude Wandeler, Head of Office for International Cooperation of the Embassy of Switzerland in Egypt Dr. Valérie Liechti, and Head of the Central Administration for Youth Empowerment at the Ministry of Youth and Sports Manal Gamal.They held meetings with the Safe Spaces team and frontline workers and lauded their efforts in response to the Sudan crisis.

The delegation also met with Sudanese women who recently arrived in Egypt and assured them that UNFPA and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation are collaborating with the Egyptian government to meet their needs.

“In its Sudan response, UNFPA aims to reach an additional 10,000 Sudanese women and girls as well as the affected host communities through our Safe Spaces in Aswan and Greater Cairo, where we plan to expand our existing good practices and implement new interventions that can effectively support refugees and host communities in the current context,” Meijer said.

“I was impressed by the commitment of the female social workers and deeply touched by the Sudanese women whom I met in the Safe Space set up by UNFPA in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports,” stated Ambassador Studer.

Fighting between the Army of Sudan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted on April 15, and has forced thousands of people to flee the country to neighboring countries. Around 200,000 people fleeing fighting in Sudan have crossed into Egypt, most of whom are women and children.

UNFPA is coordinating efforts with the Egyptian government, local authorities and humanitarian partners to meet the urgent needs of women and girls for health and protection, through ensuring access to quality gender-based violence against women and girls prevention and response services and enhancing measures to mitigate the risk of violence and prioritizing women’s access to reproductive health services. UNFPA prioritizes strengthening the local referral and coordination mechanisms in Aswan, to respond to the emergency needs.