Egypt to launch soon 1st strategy for child development in Arab region: NCCM official

CAIRO – 19 May 2022: Egypt is set to launch soon its strategy for child development, as the first Arab country to launch this strategy.

Somaya Taha, representative of the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood (NCCM), criticized those who give birth to many children to use them as an investment project, adding: “The overpopulation issue needs decisive legislation.”

“We, as the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, work in parallel with the president’s initiatives, including Haya Karima initiative, to enhance the development of the Egyptian family,” she continued.

She further called for the support of the parliament’s support for the NCCM’s independence.

“The National Council was independent for a long time, but now it is not, although the constitution provides for the independence of the councils,” Taha said.

The committee of Solidarity at the Egyptian Parliament approved recently the general budget of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood for the fiscal year 2022/2023.

The total budget is L.E. 55 million and 160 thousand compared to L.E. 51 million for the fiscal year 2021/2022. This came during a discussion of two projects of the economic and social development plan, and the state’s general budget for the fiscal year 2022/2023.

How to contact NCCM

Taha explained that the council launched several communication channels, through which it receives complaints. She added that they currently receive 1,000 child rescue reports per month, compared to 16 monthly complaints only last year.

She added that there is a hotline to help the child, in addition to a number via the WhatsApp application through which communications are received, and an official page of the council on Facebook.

She added that all these channels operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, noting that the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood is also working to monitor reports and complaints on various social media sites.

She indicated receiving thousands of complaints, most of them related to violence and abuse against children, explaining that all communications are referred to the competent authorities to deal with them legally.

She pointed out that 70 percent of the problems involve a great danger at the behavioral, religious and social levels.