Egypt launches new programs to address poverty
The Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity has started two programs to help alleviate poverty and encourage education among Egypt's most disadvantaged families.
The Ministry of Social Solidarity has announced the first stage of two programs, Solidarity and Dignity, in the governorates of Assiut and Sohag. These programs offer cash support to the poor in the first conditional cash-transfer programs in Egypt. Under the Solidarity program, the Egyptian government requires beneficiaries to commit to sending their children to school, while beneficiaries of the Dignity program are elderly or have disabilities.
On June 4, 53,000 households in Assiut and Sohag received the first installment, retroactive for the first and second quarters of 2015.
The Solidarity program, which targets families most in need of assistance, transfers financial aid every three months amounting to 350 Egyptian pounds ($45) per family. For each student in the family, additional funding is allotted: 80 pounds ($10) for elementary school students, 100 pounds ($13) for middle school students and 140 pounds ($18) for high school students. Participation is limited to three students per family, provided the family abides by the conditions, which include 80% school attendance for children over 6.
Following research conducted by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Dignity program targets extremely poor families or individuals unable to work or produce, such as persons older than 65 or people with disabilities that prevent them from working. The government intends to implement the program over three stages, the first involving six Upper Egypt governorates with increasing poverty rates: Assiut, Sohag, Aswan, Luxor, Qena and Giza.
