The UN Development Program (UNDP) and the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development on Tuesday 14/9/2021 launched Egypt Human Development Report 2021, entitled “Development, a Right for All: Egypt’s Pathways and Prospects” with the honor and under the sponsorship of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
The report monitors progress made over the decade 2011-2020 on several dimensions of sustainable development. It uses the “Declaration on the Right to Development”, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1986, as a frame of reference for analyses.
Coming after a 10-year break, this is the 12th report in the series of national human development reports that Egypt has been producing since 1994.
The 2021 Report aims to provide an in-depth analysis on Egypt’s pursuit of its national Sustainable Development Strategy: Egypt’s Vision 2030, which is fully aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In the past years, Egypt maintained its commitment to introducing reforms in the areas of health, education, scientific research and adequate housing.
In education, the performance of the pre-university education sector in Egypt has improved over the past 10 years according to accessibility indicators, as net and gross enrolment rates at all educational levels have increased.
Data on enrolment rates for both boys and girls show a decline in the gender gap during the period between the academic years of 2010/2011 and 2019/2020, the report said.
Shifting to the health sphere, the report added that between 2014 and 2020, Egypt adopted a set of policies and launched a number of health programs and initiatives.
They aimed at achieving the strategic objectives of the health sector, which are related to improving the public health of citizens and achieving universal health coverage, as well as improving health sector governance.
Egypt has developed a National Population Strategy and its five-year plan of action (2015-2020), which is based on a set of themes related to family planning and reproductive health, providing family planning services with health insurance and all government hospitals and treatment institutions, and providing an adequate balance of family planning methods, as well as working on integrating population issues into the education and awareness process, the report said.
In 2014, an ambitious social housing program was announced, whereby 1 million housing units will be established to enhance the availability of adequate housing for everyone, especially those with low incomes, according to the report.
As of 30 June 2020, the number of beneficiaries of the Social Housing Program was about 312,000. They had received monetary support of up to EGP 4.9 billion from the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund, it further said.
The economic reforms program focused on macroeconomic stabilization, reducing the public debt rates, bridging the gap in the balance of payments and the resumption of direct foreign investment flows, the report noted.
Speaking about upgrading the economy and the social protection system, the report said Egypt has been very interested in alleviating the impacts of economic reforms on the most vulnerable groups in the society by focusing on the targeted brackets in subsidies, and increasing financial allocations for social protection programs in the national budget.
This included initiating a new and expanded social protection program through conditional cash transfers (Takaful & Karama = Solidarity & Dignity) as well as programs for the rehabilitation and empowerment, alongside revamping national systems for social security, health insurance and delivery of subsidised food elements, it further noted.
Talking about women empowerment, the report said Egypt adopted its first-ever comprehensive National Strategy for Women’s Empowerment in 2017.
The political empowerment front saw women’s actual participation in the legislative branch exceeding the allocated quotas in the constitution as minimum targets, it further said.
Things are moving in a similar direction in executive branch of government. The economic empowerment front also recorded important developments in the areas of women ‘s entrepreneurship, especially in micro, and small enterprises, and their inclusion in financial and banking services, the report said.
Social empowerment results included bridging the gender-gap in education and initiating significant improvements in the delivery of women’s health services, evidenced by the increase of life expectancy at birth and the decrease in maternal mortality rates, it explained.
On governance, Egypt made important strides in strengthening governance, continuing efforts to develop and reform its administrative apparatus,especially in the areas of financial management, the reported further mentioned.
Egypt has also taken important steps towards digital transformation and mainstreaming financial technologies across all government transactions, according to the report.
Shifting to social protection system, the report mentioned that the country has paid a greater attention to restructuring of subsidies to ensure better of targeting; broader coverage of vulnerable groups; and a focus on the poorest geographical areas, as evidenced in increased portion of financial allocations for social protection programs in the national budget.
This included initiating a new and expanded social protection program through conditional cash transfers (Takaful & Karama = Solidarity & Dignity) as well as programs for the rehabilitation and empowerment, alongside revamping national systems for social security, health insurance and delivery of subsidised food elements, it said.
Development of national databases is needed to ensure efficient and just targeting of those most in need, it added.
According to the report, Egypt adopted its first-ever comprehensive National Strategy for Women ‘s Empowerment in 2017, which strengthens their political, economic and social roles through legislation, policies, strategies and executive measures.
The political empowerment front saw women’s actual participation in the legislative branch exceeding the allocated quotas in the constitution as minimum targets, it said.
Things are moving in a similar direction in executive branch of government. The economic empowerment front also recorded important developments in the areas of women’s entrepreneurship, especially in micro, and small enterprises, and their inclusion in financial and banking services. Social empowerment results included bridging the gender-gap in education and initiating significant improvements in the delivery of women’s health services, evidenced by the increase of life expectancy at birth and the decrease in maternal mortality rates, the report added.
Shifting to environmental sustainability, the report said Egypt has embarked on assessing the feasibility of using of non-traditional solutions to secure future water needs, such as seawater desalination and recycling irrigation and sewage waters.
Egypt prioritized reforming its energy supply system, with a bold program to reform energy subsidies, not only as part of its economic reform program, but also to curb unsustainable patterns of consumption of traditional sources of energy.
As well Egypt maximized its reliance on renewable energy sources and its efforts to improve energy efficiency, according to the report.
The report said that guaranteeing the right of all Egyptians to sustainable development entails strengthening Egypt’s practical capabilities to accelerate development and speed up the pace of achievement. “This requires tools for implementation, foremost of which are:
* Increasing resources for development investment and strengthening means for financing development.
* Developing the knowledge base necessary for sound development planning and follow-up.
* Accelerating the pace of digital transformation—including the expansion and strengthening of Egypt’s digital infrastructure, and broadening the scope of digital service provision, while guaranteeing the inclusiveness of such services.
* Supporting policies that target reducing poverty rates in a sustainable manner
* Institutional and human resources capacity development to enhance the efficiency of state administration and raise the level of quality in providing basic public services.”
Source: State Information Service Egypt