Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala el-Saeed said Thursday that her ministry has a database of Egyptian families around Egypt and in each village in the Egyptian countryside.
Government investment in infrastructure projects in the past period had shown immediate results, the minister said.
The government has a plan to improve the economic conditions of families nationwide, the minister added, pointing out that women’s empowerment is top priority in the plan.
Women’s financial independence is an issue of extreme importance and an effective means to reduce population growth, el-Saeed said, citing studies made in 14 countries on the same issue.
El-Saeed added that her ministry would offer training to 2 million women in the coming three years and assist 1 million women in starting up their own small and micro-projects in cooperation with the National Council of Women and the Ministry of Social Solidarity.
El-Saeed referred to a survey by her ministry of family planning needs in a number of rural areas.
Some women want to plan their families, but they do not have the means to do so, she said, adding that her ministry would organise home visits in rural areas to spread awareness of family planning and offer guidance in birth control methods.
The health ministry will also send specialists to the villages to offer women advice on family planning, el-Saeed said.
She added that her ministry would also make contractives available for rural women free of charge.
She went on to say that her ministry had agreed with the higher education ministry to devise courses primarily aimed at male students on family planning as an issue.
The ministry will be working with other government bodies on family planning awareness campaigns, she said, noting the importance of public information films on television and drama for this purpose.
She said her ministry is also cooperates with the culture ministry in making television programmes and serials highlighting the role of family planning in social welfare.
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