Egypt’s planning ministry signs cooperation protocol with The Decent Life foundation

CAIRO - 9 May 2021: Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development signed on Sunday a cooperation protocol with The Decent Life foundation regarding the integration of efforts made around the presidential initiative and the national project "A Decent Life", in the presence of Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development.

The protocol was signed on behalf of the ministry by Dr. Jamil Helmy, assistant minister of planning and economic development and the general supervisor of the initiative at the ministry, and Mrs. Aya Omar Al-Qamari, chairperson of the board of trustees of The Decent Life foundation.

The signing of the protocol took place in the presence of Dr. HebaMugheeb, Head of the Regional Planning Sector at the Ministry, Ms. OhoudWafi, Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of The Decent Life foundation, and Mr. Omar Behansi, Treasurer of the Foundation.

On the sidelines of the signing process, H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development asserted that the protocol comes within the framework of implementing the directives of President El-Sisi regarding strengthening social protection measures, through the implementation of the presidential initiative "A Decent Life" to support the neediest and most vulnerable groups.

El-Said pointed out that the agreement of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and The Decent Life foundation comes within the framework of joint efforts to contribute to achieving the initiative's goal, which is to raise the economic, social, and environmental level of families in the neediest villages across Egypt.

El-Said added that according to the protocol, cooperation will take place on the integration and coordination of efforts made in implementing the presidential initiative "A Decent Life" to unite the state's efforts in the file of poverty, to relieve the burdens of citizens, especially the neediest families in rural communities.

For his part, Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister of Planning and Economic Development, explained that the Ministry and The Decent Life Foundation are working to support the implementation of the "A Decent Life" initiative, intending to coordinate and integrate the efforts made in it, which aims to improve the quality of life of the citizen and reduce the negative effects of the corona pandemic.

Aya Omar Al-Qamari, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of The Decent Life foundation, said: “We are honored to sign the protocol today with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, and it is considered a link in the chain of cooperation between state institutions from the government and civil society”.

Al-Qamari added that the most prominent of what was mentioned in the signed protocol: Cooperation in the field of measuring impact and improving the quality of human life and implementing all interventions.

According to the protocol, Egypt’s Planning ministry and The “ Decent Life” Foundation will collaborate to work on several points, most notably the agreement on criteria for targeting priority villages, as well as the most effective interventions, implementation of development interventions in the target villages according to sustainability standards and sustainable building codes.

This is in addition to exchanging data, information, and performance follow-up reports, and measuring the impact of the initiative on citizens' satisfaction, while providing innovative tools to fund the initiative, in a way that reduces the burden on the state's general budget.

“A Decent Life” is a presidential initiative that aims to reduce the burden on citizens in the neediest rural communities, through the implementation of a set of developmental interventions, in which the state's efforts are combined with the experience of civil society institutions to bring about qualitative improvement in the lives of the targeted citizens and their societies at the same time.

The initiative stresses the importance of enhancing social protection for citizens, with the importance of the equitable distribution of development proceeds and providing decent and productive job opportunities, especially for youth, to enable them to improve the standard of living for their families and their local communities.