Egypt is supporting this year the work of civil society organisations as it is moving ahead with its developmental projects.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi announced that 2022 will be the Year of Civil Society Organisations in Egypt and urged civil society groups to continue working hard side by side with state institutions to achieve the goals of sustainable development in all fields and spread awareness of human rights.
Sisi’s first recommendations at the conclusion of the fourth edition of the World Youth Forum (WYF) are to assign the relevant state institutions to establish an effective national dialogue platform between the state, its youth and the local and international civil organisations.
As a result, the representatives of civil society organisations held five meetings as part of the Decent Life Initiative to exchange ideas and visions, which resulted in a charter of the National Alliance for Civil Development Work (NACDW) on February 28, 2022.
NACDW was established with 24 representatives of major civil society entities and some service entities, where civil society organisations represent one fifth of Egypt’s social capital and one third of Egypt’s overall development efforts.
NACDW participates in the national dialogue with the National Training Academy, where the social development dialogue promotes integrated development visions to reach a national and public commonalities for the new republic idea and enhancing the development efforts.
The General Federation of NGOS and 23 civil institutions and hospitals signed the charter, which is the top of volunteer work in Egypt on March 23, 2022.
NACDW has 24 members, including Decent Life Initiative, Al-Orman Charity Association, the Egyptian Food Bank, the Magdi Yacoub Heart Organisation and Ahl Masr Organisation.
The Alliance in less than three months held more than 20 meetings with the participation of 300 entities to coordinate protection and social support initiatives along with Decent Life Initiative.
The Wasl Al-Khair initiative in Ramadan is the coalition’s first initiative in the holy fasting month of Ramadan to strengthen the social protection cover to quickly secure food for citizens during the month, which came in light of global economic pressures.
The first operation, Wasl Al-Khair 1, harnessed the efforts of the coalition members by distributing food to the poorest families.
After the success of Wasl Al-Khair 1, NACDW nmembers worked on Wasl-Al Khair 2. It includes providing services in social, health and food convoys in many governorates to be the largest, most comprehensive and organised of its kind.
The contributions of the coalition members reached $5.5 billion, starting from mid-May until the end of the year.
The services are divided into cash aid, food support, healthcare services and economic empowerment projects.
The number of beneficiaries is expected to reach 5 million people, while the state’s support for NACDW will reach LE9 billion by the end of the year.
The charter also aims to establish a database that would serve as the foundation on which all developmental initiatives will be based to ensure that services provided by civil society groups reach their beneficiaries.
The alliance is currently studying ways to maximise the total sum in order to reach all those who deserve it, with the importance of achieving sustainability in co-operation with all government authorities.
