Egypt’s Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine el-Qabbag stressed on the importance for spreading awareness in Egypt’s remote and deprived areas where citizens do not have the channels that provide them knowledge on many issues.
El-Qabbag added that her ministry deals with issues from a humanitarian perspective. In light of this, she added, the ‘Awareness’ programme for social development was launched to combat cultural deprivation.
The minister’s remarks came during her opening of the first cultural salon organised by the General Syndicate of Egyptian Writers’ Union.
The minister said civil society has several initiatives and entities that work purely in the service of families and society independent of any religious and political orientations.
Moreover, Egypt’s political leadership strongly supports all forms of social contributions by civil associations, the minister added.
“Social and cultural security are closely related. The absence of cultural security represents a serious danger to social security. Hence, the presence of both is equally vital for investing in people and realising sustainable development,” el-Qabbag said.
“The social protection portfolio is one of the state’s top priorities. This is amply demonstrated in the 2014 Constitution which included articles ensuring social protection, the launch of the social safety programme Takaful and Karama (Solidarity and Dignity), which has been providing conditional cash to poor households since 2015,” she added.
The minister went on to say that the political leadership is ever keen to expand the social protection network for the poor. In light of this, the president gave instructions for the launch of the ‘Equal Opportunities’ programme grants services to citizens in need away from the conditional cash transfer porgramme Takaful and Karama. These services include covering the expense of hormonal treatment for breast cancer patients, buying housing units for orphanages and paying school fees for children most in need.
