Sisi says it has been his dream to change situation in Egypt’s underprivileged areas

“I have dreamt of changing the situation in the areas that live in difficult circumstances,” Sisi told the first conference of the Decent Life initiative, a national project to develop Egypt’s countryside.

The project, which aims at upgrading all aspects of life for 4,584 villages in all governorates that represent 58% of Egypt’s population, is estimated at around EGP 700 billion.

It focuses on promoting social, health, educational, economic and housing levels as well as all other service sectors in these villages. It also targets eliminating multilateral poverty and investing in developing humans from a comprehensive perspective, in cooperation with all the state bodies concerned.

The first phase, which covers 52 centers across the country, focuses on upgrading the infrastructure, realizing economic empowerment, enhancing social and human development, promoting the health system in hospitals, health units and ambulance services as well as the sectors of electricity, education, communication, sanitation, drinking water, natural gas, roads, public government service complexes, youth and sports, agriculture and social solidarity. It also includes rehabilitating people of special needs, funding marriages for poor couples, providing decent housing, vocational rehabilitation and establishing industrial and agricultural complexes and waste recycling plants and establishing micro- and small-sized enterprises.

President Sisi launched the “Decent Life” initiative to develop the Egyptian countryside on January 2, 2019. The initiative later turned into a national project early in 2021 that aims to improve the living standards and quality of life to the needy in rural communities across the nation and upgrade the level of services offered to the nationals.