Minister of Solidarity at a regional event on empowerment and independent living
Dr. Maya Morsi, Minister of Social Solidarity, participated in the regional side event entitled " The path to comprehensive social development…from empowerment to independent living" Organized by the Kingdom of Bahrain in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, as part of the activities of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, in the presence of Mr. Osama bin Saleh Al-Alawi, Minister of Social Development of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Ms. Wafa Bani Mustafa, Minister of Social Development of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and was moderated by Minister Plenipotentiary Tariq Al-Nabulsi, Director of the Department of Development and Social Policies at the League of Nations. Arabic.
The Minister of Social Solidarity confirmed that we We meet today at a time when our collective responsibility to eradicate poverty, promote social empowerment, and ensure decent work for all has never been more urgent than it is now. Successive global crises, rising rates of inequality, and other ongoing challenges threaten to undermine what has been achieved during decades of development efforts, which makes it necessary to take more solid and flexible paths towards achieving the 2030 Agenda.
Dr. Maya Morsi explained that: Since the 1950s, Egypt has developed an integrated system of social protection that includes: cash assistance, health care, social insurance, social housing, crisis and emergency support, economic empowerment, in-kind transfers and ration cards, and other programs aimed at achieving social justice and human dignity.
The Minister of Social Solidarity indicated that despite the economic challenges that Egypt has faced over the past years, we have not retreated, but rather made social protection at the heart of our national vision, and transformed the system into mechanisms. divided into an integrated and advanced framework that focuses on human dignity and addresses the roots of poverty and fragility. Government spending on social protection programs has doubled to reach 700 billion Egyptian pounds during the current fiscal year — This reflects the state’s firm commitment to its citizens.
The “Solidarity and Dignity” program is The cornerstone of this effort — It is the clearest embodiment of our commitment to solidarity and justice, as the program was launched in 2015 as a conditional cash transfer program, which is not considered just financial support, but rather a strategic investment in Egypt’s future that aims to break the cycle of poverty. The program began with a budget of approximately 3.6 billion pounds, and today it has exceeded 54 billion pounds annually.
The Minister of Social Solidarity indicated that during the past ten years it has supported about 7.8 million families, and currently serves 4.7 million families, and the system has evolved from random support to an accurate digital system that uses a targeting mechanism through testing the standard of living to ensure that support reaches the families most in need, and 75% of the beneficiaries of cash support are of women, which enhances their economic role within the family and society, and our efforts are not limited to monetary support only, but rather represent "solidarity and dignity" A basic foundation upon which we build a comprehensive and cohesive social structure that integrates protection in the areas of health, education, housing, and economic opportunities.
The conditional program also obligates families to ensure that their children attend schools and conduct periodic medical examinations — Which represents an essential axis in our human capital development strategy, and is consistent with major national reforms such as: the comprehensive health insurance law, and huge investments in the educational infrastructure to ensure a good learning environment for every child, as we believe that health is a right, and education is the way out of poverty.
Egypt witnessed a fundamental transformation in the cash aid system, as “Solidarity and Dignity” became A legal right under the amended Social Security Law approved by His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi this year, making it the first legislative framework to govern the cash support system in the history of Egypt. The Minister of Social Solidarity stressed that the highest goal of social protection is human dignity, and from this standpoint, we have paid great attention to providing decent and stable housing through multiple social housing initiatives, to ensure that low-income families have access to safe, appropriate and affordable housing. This commitment finds its greatest embodiment in the presidential initiative “Decent Life”, this unprecedented national project that aims to eliminate aspects of multidimensional poverty in more than thousands of rural villages, through infrastructure development, and most importantly, our programs are designed to encourage… Empowerment, not dependency.
And through the strategic financial system and economic empowerment – We work to connect the beneficiaries of the “Takaful” program Those who are able to work in vocational training programs and microfinance projects, allowing them to move from dependence on support to self-reliance, economic empowerment, and effective contribution to the national economy. We also realize that the modern system of social protection must be flexible and able to adapt, and in the face of global economic fluctuations — Including the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and inflationary pressures — The Egyptian system has proven its ability to respond quickly and effectively.
Through the unified national registry and the social protection database, we were able to quickly expand the umbrella of support, launch repeated exceptional packages to raise the minimum wage and support values, and add hundreds of thousands of new families to the social safety net, making the system a protective shield in the face of external crises, and this ability to respond quickly to emergencies is an essential element in Egypt’s strategy to build resilience. We cannot ignore the aspect of social care, as Egypt has been working for many years to strengthen the infrastructure of social services and develop inclusive policies for the elderly and people with disabilities. The state is also making great efforts towards shifting from institutional care to family and home care, especially for children, for the sake of a warmer and more humane environment. The sponsorship mechanism has been strengthened and a draft alternative care law is being finalized.
The Minister of Social Solidarity confirmed that the Egyptian government is currently working to enhance its future vision by preparing the national framework for social protection, and this framework is considered a qualitative new step, as it addresses the social protection system from the perspective of the citizen’s complete life cycle — From childhood to old age — For the first time in the history of social policies in Egypt.
The social protection framework is one of the contemporary pillars for achieving sustainable and comprehensive growth, as it is based on a design based on social rights and priorities, and adopts a humanitarian approach centered on investment in human capital and aims to enhance the ability to respond to emerging shocks and risks throughout the stages of a citizen’s life, including risks resulting from environmental and climate changes.
It also adopts It relies on flexible and adaptable systems, based on data and digital integration, and linking protection, development and economic empowerment.
It also focuses on strengthening the care economy, providing decent work for all, especially women, across the various stages of life, in addition to maximizing the return on investment in policies and systems of care and social support.
The Minister of Social Solidarity concluded her speech by saying: " We are committed to continuing to build on what has been achieved, to ensure that our social protection system remains comprehensive, flexible, and built on the foundations of solidarity and dignity for every Egyptian citizen.
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