USAID grants Egypt $100 -112M annually: USAID mission director

CAIRO – 25 July 2018: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grants Egypt $100 -112 million annually, divided among several activities and aspects, including economic development, entrepreneurships and scholarships, according to Sherry Carlin, the USAID mission director in Egypt.

On the sidelines of the graduation ceremony for 37 Egyptian students from the USAID-funded grant programs in Egypt on Tuesday, July 24, Carlin said that the agency carries out several activities in cooperation with the Egyptian government, such as coordinating with the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater (HCWW) to set up several projects especially in Sinai.

She added that the agency holds activities in the cultural tourism field through the restoration of many Egyptian heritage sites. Carlin referred that USAID also works with Egypt’s Ministry of Health, affirming that they are extremely interested in backing democracy, controlling violence and combating illegal immigration.

All of the agency’s work with Egypt is executed in cooperation with the state’s government, mostly with the Ministry of International Cooperation.

In November 2017, USAID signed a historic $15 million agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Education to improve education in Egypt. USAID stated on its official Facebook account that over 100,000 new teaching materials will be developed, including scripted lesson plans for teachers and books for learners and over 150,000 early grade teachers who will be trained – impacting 7.2 million children in 17,000 schools nationwide.

In January, USAID and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education organized a seven-day workshop for 1,300 Egyptian technical school teachers and administrators from 60 vocational schools in 11 governorates across Egypt. The workshop tackled the future of technical education in Egypt.

The workshop aimed to connect technical schools to the private sector and strengthen the career guidance skills of all participants, giving them better tools to help prepare the next generation of Egypt’s workforce.

According to U.S. Embassy Cairo Chargé d’Affaires Thomas H. Goldberger, “One of Egypt’s greatest resources is the potential of its workforce. We believe in investing in Egypt, and we believe that this project is a valuable investment in the human resources that Egypt needs for its future economy.”

The workshop was part of USAID’s Workforce Improvement and Skills Enhancement (WISE) project, which works with the private sector to determine workforce needs, prepare students to join the workforce and connect students with potential employers.

“Since 2016, USAID’s project to improve the skills and job-readiness of technical students has secured employment for nearly 7,000 and internships for over 5,350 students,” said USAID economist Jacinto Fabiosa. “More than 24,000 students have benefited from career guidance sessions and over 21,000 students received training in entrepreneurship.”

This project was part of the $30 billion that the American people have invested in Egypt through USAID since 1978.