Governorate: Sohag

Location: Sohag is bordered by Assiut governorate in the north, by Qena governorate in south, by the Red Sea governorate in east and by the New Valley governorate in west. It extends for 125 km along the Nile River and is 467 km away from Cairo.

Population: Its population is estimated at about 5,193,052, representing 5.2 percent of Egypt’s total population. The percentage of males to females is 52 percent to 48 percent respectively. (CAPMAS 2019)

Family planning services: There are 351 family planning clinics in Sohag, 18 mobile family planning clinics, 12 family planning warehouses and 613 outreach workers.

Main indicators: (DHS 2014)

• Total fertility rate: 4.3
• Unmet need for family planning methods: 25.9 percent

EU Supported activities:

• Capacitating officials responsible for forecasting, procuring and distributing contraceptive commodities, directors of family planning and procurement specialists on the procurement and tender laws.
• Assessment of 12 warehouses and refurbishing of 6. The project supported the procurement of ladders, refrigerators, fire extinguishers, desks, chairs and shelves.
• Five family planning campaigns were conducted in 2019, reacting 1994 beneficiaries with family planning methods. Along with the mobile clinics, 20 community seminars were held to enhance awareness on reproductive health and family planning, attended by 783 community members.
• Launch of the accreditation system “El-Wessam,” training of service providers in charge of registration and supervisory visits were conducted in preparation for the award to centers of excellence.
• Training of 84 physicians on the insertion of Implanon and the latest medical eligibility criteria for contraceptive use.
• Training of 375 outreach workers using a package that includes scientific background, communication skills and how to address constraining social norms that has been developed by Save the Children with the Ministry of Health and Population since 2017.
• BLESS and al-Azhar capacitated religious leaders and spread awareness on population and family planning issues. 308 religious leaders were trained until 2019. Messages were disseminated in women’s community clubs through classes, community initiatives (gathering and street theatre performances) and seminars. Religious leaders conducted awareness raising and step down seminars to community members and other religious leaders respectively. Family planning courses were initiated by religious leaders in the women community clubs while interactive activities addressing family planning took place in the clubs targeting women, men, girls and boys.