The presidential rural development initiative, ‘Decent Life’, Egypt’s largest project in the 21st century, is expected to transform the lives of 60 million people who live in 4,500 villages across the country.
The initiative aims to improve standards of living, infrastructure and services for rural inhabitants. It works on establishing infrastructure, including clean water, sewage, gas and electricity, as well as schools, medical centres and complexes for government services. Villagers will no longer need to travel long distances to the cities in order to finish their paperwork. The budget of the Decent Life initiative is estimated at LE700 billion. The stakeholders include state agencies, ministries, NGOs and the private sector.
A new report by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development measures the impact of efforts undertaken by the state in the field of developing rural communities within the framework of the Decent Life initiative since its launch by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in 2019.
The report showed that 1,675 household water connections, 706 domestic sewage tanks and 1,680 domestic sewage networks have been installed. The initiative also established 3,000 nurseries, 82 veterinary units, 51 health units, 26 youth centres, nine social units, and 120,000 housing units.
Decent Life has received acclaim from international and regional organisations as well as world leaders who asserted that the project is an inspirational model for modernising the countryside.
