Egyptian government buys thousands of apartments for orphans

CAIRO – 17 June 2024: The Ministry of Social Solidarity indicated in a statement Monday that 1,023 apartments had been bought - at LE400 million - as residences for orphans after they leave the facilities amid turning 21, and that the buying of 1,307 others was underway.

Of those, 707 were delivered fully-furnished within a social safety package that includes in-kind subsidies, state-funded health insurance, vocational training, assistance with job hunting, and credit to start their own businesses.

The ministry launched an ambitious strategy on alternative care in 2021. The strategy aims for turning the extended family into caregivers, in case of the loss of both biological parents or stripping them of custody rights, with the ministry covering the larger part of expenses.

If the extended family is not an option, the other choice becomes small and safe families, so as facilities become the last resort. Equally, the minister pointed out that the ministry works on bolstering control mechanisms to hold accountable anyone who abuses children.

Minister Neveine al-Qabaj stated last year that the number of orphans in Egypt was 1,430,000. Seventy percent of those lost their father, 27 percent lost their mother, and three percent lost both parents. Many of those are partially funded by the government and charities.