Ahmed Salem
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met today with Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Social Solidarity Dr. Maya Morsi.
The official spokesperson for the Presidency stated that the President followed up during the meeting on the latest developments in the efforts to govern and modernize the social support and protection system.
The Minister of Social Solidarity pointed to the efforts made by the Ministry in preparing the national framework for social protection, with the aim of producing an integrated framework that reflects the efforts of the Egyptian state and contributes to achieving the goals of sustainable development.
A system that ensures safety for vulnerable groups
She noted that the state, through the social protection system, seeks to activate a number of mechanisms that achieve security for the most vulnerable groups and support the exit from multidimensional poverty.
The Minister of Solidarity explained that the ministry encourages investment in spending on social protection programs, and the ministry is implementing the strategic financial system program for economic empowerment in partnership with relevant state bodies, the private sector and civil society.
Developing support tools to achieve social justice
In this regard, the President stressed the need for continuous work on developing support tools to achieve a greater balance between social justice and economic sustainability, while fully preserving the rights of citizens most in need of care. He directed that there be a unified social protection program through which the necessary protection is provided to the targeted and deserving groups and segments of citizens.
The President also directed the continuation of monitoring the implementation of the Takaful and Karama program, which benefits 4.7 million families, and the preparation of an annual report to measure the social, economic and developmental impact of the program, and to enhance the economic empowerment of beneficiary families and the efficiency of the state’s social spending.
Ambassador Mohamed El Shenawy, the official spokesperson, added that the meeting also included a review of the Ministry of Social Solidarity’s efforts regarding the development of the early childhood care system and the nurseries file, which the state is giving increasing strategic attention to, considering investment in children from the age of (0 to 4 years) a national necessity.
The state's interest in the early childhood care system
In this context, Dr. Maya Morsi affirmed that the state’s interest in the early childhood care system and nurseries comes within a comprehensive plan aimed at increasing the capacity of nurseries and developing the quality of educational and pedagogical services provided at this stage, in line with the objectives of Egypt’s Vision 2030, noting the efforts made in this regard.
This can be achieved by establishing a partnership with the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities to increase the number of nurseries in new urban communities, as well as working to improve the efficiency of existing nurseries, in addition to facilitating licensing procedures for nurseries, creating a database to identify places where an increase in the number of nurseries is required, in addition to improving the efficiency of the human element working in the nursery sector.
She pointed out that a comprehensive national survey is underway to identify the geographical areas where an increase in the number of nurseries is required.
Presidential directive to increase the quality of services provided to children
In this context, the President directed that the quality of services provided to children be increased, their work facilitated, the rates of children’s enrollment in nurseries be increased, and an integrated development map for the nursery sector in Egypt be developed in light of working on developing policies that support the family, and the creation of centers for counseling and psychological and social support for children in accordance with international standards, stressing the need to expand the establishment of elderly care homes.
The official spokesperson explained that the Minister of Social Solidarity also reviewed during the meeting matters related to the governance and development of the child sponsorship system through alternative foster families, noting that the Ministry is expanding in the field of child sponsorship through alternative foster families in a way that achieves the best interest of children lacking family care, pointing out the launch of an internal electronic system to link the Supreme Committee for Alternative Families with the local committees in the Social Solidarity Directorates at the national level.
In this regard, the President stressed the need to provide all aspects of care within foster families to achieve social and psychological stability for the children, directing specialists to conduct periodic follow-ups on fostered children to ensure their stability within these families.
