Due to global economic downturn: Egypt adds 400K families to monetary subsidies programme

CAIRO – 19 May 2022: Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine al-Qabaj confirmed Thursday the statements made by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli earlier this week on adding 400,000 families to the monetary subsidies programme dubbed "Takaful and Karama" (Arabic for Solidarity and Dignity).

That large batch has been enrolled at a time since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine War and the ensued global economic impact. As such, the number of the programme's new beneficiaries becomes 1.7 million.

The programme started with 63,000 families in FY2015/2016, but had as beneficiary families by May 2021 a total of 3.4 million families.

Field Operations Manager at the Ministry of Social Solidarity Yasser Abdel Salam stated in a phone-in in August that the amount of monetary subsidies disbursed in FY2020/2021 within Takaful w Karama programme had reached LE20 billion.

The official underlined that the sum is six times that of the launching year,  as it now operates in all villages and low-income neighborhoods.

Takaful wa Karama provides conditional family income support aimed at increasing food consumption, reducing poverty, while encouraging families to keep children at school and providing them with needed health care.
 

Along with ensuring that vulnerable families receive basic nutrition, the goal is to build the human capital of the next generation and give them a path out of poverty.
 

The program is "conditional", meaning that households receive a monthly transfer of LE 325 providing they are compliant with certain clearly defined requirements.
 

These include all household children should be aged 6-18 and have at least an 80 percent school attendance record, four visits per year to health clinics by mothers and children below the age of 6, where child growth monitoring records are maintained, and nutrition awareness sessions are attended.
 

The sessions help promote better child feeding practices, regular immunizations, and antenatal and postnatal care of women. Households are given additional support for every 0-6 year-old child (LE 60), primary stage student (LE 80), preparatory stage student (LE 100) and secondary stage students (LE 140).
 

The program covers a maximum of three children per household and reviews the eligibility of beneficiaries every three years.