State's administrative apparatus lacks skills: Ghada Waly

CAIRO – 08 November 2017: Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly discussed Egyptian the potential youth and expertise during the voluntary work session on the fourth day of the World Youth Forum (WYF).

On the sidelines of the session, Waly mentioned that the number of people working for the state's administrative apparatus exceeds 5 million, although there remains a shortage of skilled workers. According to Waly, the state tries to "bridge the gap" through voluntary work opportunities.

"We work on funding voluntary work and have more than 900 committees to introduce voluntary programs to the people," said Waly, hinting at the positive, deep effect voluntary work has on the lives of volunteers.

Speaking of voluntary work, the Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity said there are about 40,000 NGOs supposed to be working all over the state. However, not all of them are fully active.

Waly affirmed that NGOs participated as main partners in implementing the state’s 2030 strategy. “About LE 10 billion are spent annually by NGOs on their goals that include education, health, economy, eliminating poverty, environment and climate change,” she said.

Egyptian economic expert Mohamed El-Erian expressed his pride that Egypt hosts a hospital providing treatment free of charge for pediatric cancer patients, namely the 57357 Hospital, which represents the best example of fruitful voluntary work.

The WYF, which was launched on Sunday, is a forum designed to give global youth the chance to be heard by world leaders and influential individuals. Egypt’s first international youth event is set to run until November 10. The event brings together 3,000 members of the youth represented by 60 delegations.