President attends launch of momentous int’l congress on population, health
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has stressed the continuity of meticulous action to achieve developmental goals and overcome challenges, noting in this context the state’s efforts to upgrade the infrastructure and the success in downsizing the unemployment rate to 6.5 in spite of the growth of the population from 80 million in 2011 to 106 million this year.
In remarks he made during a discussion session on “Harnessing Challenges: Human Development in Times of Crisis, as part of the Global Congress on Population, Health and Human Development (PHDC’ 24) that kick-started in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) on Sunday, President Sisi emphasised that Egypt is pursuing a strategy for development based upon seeking balanced and integrated solutions while maintaining the goals of development.
The PHDC’ 24 convened under the theme of “Creating Change: Human Development for a Sustainable Future” and aims to promote an integrated approach for long-term sustainability towards a healthier and more prosperous future.
In his remarks, President Sisi highlighted Egypt’s experience in dealing with crises and turning hardships into opportunities, recalling in this connection that Egypt emerged from the 2011 events with tough economic circumstances and the security instability as a result of extremism and terrorism but has nevertheless managed to turn those crises into real opportunities for achieving large successes through challenging the crises and finding out innovative solutions.
Elaborating, the president said that the state relied on two main strategies in dealing with those crises: combining balanced and integrated solutions, and upholding the goals of development. The government, he said, has been keen on implementing the planned goals however big the challenges were.
The president also cited Egypt’s success in overcoming the Hepatitis C crisis and reducing waiting lists in the healthcare sector – two of the most critical crises Egypt confronted.
Egypt, he added, launched a national campaign for comprehensive health screening, covering obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, alongside its efforts to combat Hepatitis C. The initiative allowed the government to collect extensive health data, transforming Egypt from one of the countries most severely affected by Hepatitis C into a HVC-free nation.
Citing another example of the effectiveness of the strategies adopted to overcome challenges, President Sisi said that the unemployment rate has been cut to 6.5 per cent despite the population growth from 80 million in 2011 to 106 million today. The rates were previously high, with universities churning out around one million graduates each year, presenting a significant challenge in terms of job creation.
Referring to Egypt’s economic reform programme, launched in 2016, the president said that the programme succeeded due not only to the efforts exerted but also to the stability of regional and international conditions at the time – which are no longer present today.
The current programme, he said, is proceeding under extremely difficult regional and international circumstances with potentially grave, negative consequences on economy the world over, and the few years to come could see economic recession as a result of these international repercussions.
Since Egypt is part of the global economy, the current programme must take these challenges into account, the president said, adding that Egypt lost 6 to 7 billion dollars over the past 7-10 months, and this trend may continue for another year due to global circumstances; hence the need for revising the programme if it places unbearable pressure on the public.
On the issue of water scarcity, President Sisi pointed to Egypt’s annual share of Nile water, which has remained constant at approximately 55 billion cubic metres for decades. This share, he said, is now inadequate for the rapidly growing population, which has increased from 4 million some 150-200 years ago to 106 million today. This has placed Egypt in a state of severe water poverty, the president said.
He added that Egypt has not engaged in conflicts to increase its water share. According to United Nations standards, Egypt is in a state of extreme water scarcity, with per capita water availability at less than 450 cubic metres annually, whereas the standard should range from 900 to 1,000 cubic metres.
Over the past ten years, Egypt has implemented a major programme for advanced water treatment, making it the second-largest country in the world in water recycling, President Sisi said. He added that Egypt has invested substantial sums in this sector, to establish advanced triple-treatment plants to serve 106 million people.