Egypt releases report on working towards SDGs through 'Decent Life' initiative

CAIRO – 28 July 2022: The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development released Thursday a summary of a report it prepared on the progress of Decent Life initiative implementation.

Minister Hala El-Said pointed out to the inclusion of the initiative among the best practices and accelerators of the sustainable development goals on the United Nations platform due to its size and importance in achieving Egypt's Vision 2030.

The initiative also garnered applause from all development institutions on the regional and international levels as one of the largest developmental projects in the world, targeting approximately 58 million citizens.

The report indicated that the budget spent until Decent Life's launching in 2021 amounted to LE 100 billion, and that were directed to the sectors of drinking water and sanitation services, electricity, health, educational and residential services, roads and bridges, rehabilitation and lining of canals.

Minister Said underlined that the presidential initiative "Decent Life", which is one of the most important national projects, aims to improve the standard of living in the Egyptian countryside, by reducing poverty and unemployment rates and improving the general quality of life for citizens. That is because the initiative aims to reach all rural areas, representing 58 percent of Egypt's population, over three years.

The assessment process, adopted by the report, used the same parameters as those fostered by the United Nations to evaluate countries' performance in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Regarding the first goal of eradicating poverty, the initiative introduced 56 social solidarity facilities in 51 villages.  As for the second goal pertaining to the eradication of hunger, the initiative established 134 agricultural service centers in 40 centers.

 With regard to the third goal pertinent to good health and well-being, 272 healthcare units in 42 villages, and 158 ambulance points in 45 villages were built. In respect of the fourth goal relevant to quality education, the establishment and development of 5,416 classrooms, and maintenance of 95 schools in 366 villages were completed.

The report explained that concerning the fifth goal on gender equality, the initiative distributed more than 11,000 benefit cards among female citizens, introduced 25 vocational training units, and issued 170,300 national ID cards for women.

Concerning the sixth goal on clean water and sanitation, sanitation projects were completed in 158 villages, serving three million citizens. Three sewage treatment plants, with a capacity of 20,000 m3/day, were finished, in addition to installing 287,000 household sewage connections in 18 governorates, serving 1.5 million citizens.

In fulfillment of the seventh goal on clean and affordable energy, the initiative developed electricity networks in 22 villages; maintained and installed 267,500 electricity poles (medium and low voltage); installed 1,545 electrical kiosks; and, extended 6,273 km of medium and low voltage cables. Natural gas was also introduced in 118 villages.

In terms of vying to accomplish the eighth goal on decent work and economic growth, loan financing was offered for small projects, with a total value of LE 5.2 billion, resulting in the creation of 403,000 job opportunities.

About the eleventh goal on sustainable cities and local communities, 10 main roads with a total length of 60 km were paved in seven villages. That is in addition to the introduction of 173 km of roads in 52 villages and 261 irrigation bridges in 33 villages, as well as the development of 55 railway stations in 26 villages.

In regard to the seventeenth goal on partnerships to achieve the goals, a fiber-optic network, encompassing 44,400 distribution points, was extended across 68 villages.  Further, 16,000 distribution points, serving two million citizens living in 17 villages, were established along with installing 232 portable towers in 49 villages.