An Egyptian-Canadian partnership to implement projects aimed at empowering women and achieving food security

Egypt enjoys excellent economic potential that has made it a distinguished regional center that encourages neighboring countries to establish good friendly relations with it. For its part, Egypt values these good relations and is keen to strengthen them with economic partnerships in many different fields, believing in the importance of these partnerships in achieving comprehensive sustainable development, through projects that targetgender equality, providing decent work, economic growth, and upgrading industry, innovation, and structures. Basic.

In this context, the Egyptian and Canadian sides enjoy many common interests in various development fields, and these projects represent an important addition to national efforts in the areas of sustainable development, as they come within the framework of integration between planning mechanisms and international cooperation to support comprehensive development efforts in Egypt.

New development projects

Hence, the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation announced 3 new projects between the Egyptian and Canadian governments with an approximate value of 552 million pounds distributed in areas that support women’s empowerment, the economy, health, education, and climate-smart agriculture. This was in a meeting between Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, with Mr. Ulrike Shannon, Canadian Ambassador to Egypt.

In order to ensure the good geographical distribution of these projects to ensure maximum benefit, they cover various parts of Egypt, from Upper Egypt (Assiut, Minya) to Lower Egypt (Beheira, Gharbia, Menoufia) and the major cities (Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Damietta).

Comprehensive support project for refugee women

In addition to achieving the economic aspect of this cooperation, the projects also included achieving the social aspect related to supporting women through the signing of a project aimed at providing comprehensive support to refugee women and girls in Egypt to contribute to strengthening the axis of protection and social integration within the Canadian portfolio.

The projects also focused specifically on the most needy groups of refugee women and girls, by improving the standard of living and facilitating access to services and protection in a way that enhances the dimensions of gender equality and complements existing efforts in empowering women in Egypt. The project is implemented through the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Aswan, Greater Cairo, Alexandria, and Damietta.

Empowering women in Upper Egypt

The axis of women’s empowerment receives great attention from the Canadian side, as it presented the project to empower women and girls in adolescence in Upper Egypt (Masarat), by focusing on empowering girls and young women in Upper Egypt, in line with the Egyptian strategy to empower women by promoting gender equality and improving access to reproductive health services.

From the above, there is clear support for the goals of sustainable development and the completion of existing efforts in ongoing projects, with a focus on young age groups and enhancing the ability of the local community to provide services efficiently. The Ministry of Health and Population is implementing the project, in cooperation with the National Council for Women, in Assiut and Minya governorates.

Integration between women’s empowerment and food security projects

In order to achieve integration and linkage between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, signed the Food for the Future project, which aims to empower women through a comprehensive approach to the nutrition of mothers and girls in Egypt. This project focuses on the two axes of health and nutrition, while expanding its scope to include improving the quality of nutrition and health care for mothers, girls and children.

In addition to enhancing cooperation between different ministries and completing education and training programs such as EGY CAN, by strengthening the capabilities of local communities to improve nutrition, and thus contributing to achieving social and economic sustainability for the beneficiaries, the project is implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Ministry of Health and Population, in the governorates of Assiut, Qena, Sohag, Sharkia, Gharbia, Beheira, Cairo, and Giza.

In conclusion, the Egyptian-Canadian partnership reflects a practical approach towards employing international cooperation in supporting national development priorities, especially in the areas of empowering women and enhancing food security. These projects do not aim to provide temporary support, but rather seek to build sustainable capabilities for the groups most in need, and improve the quality of life in local communities, especially in the governorates of Upper Egypt and the areas most affected by economic and social challenges.

The Earth Guards Foundation confirms that investing in women, health and nutrition represents an essential gateway to achieving comprehensive and sustainable development, and at the same time reflects Egypt’s keenness to direct international partnerships towards projects with a tangible social and economic impact.