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WFP WELCOMES € 2 MILLION DONATION
FROM EU TO EGYPT
CAIRO –The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
today welcomed a contribution € 2 million (US$2.7
million) from the European Commission (EC) for
development projects for Bedouin communities in the
Sinai, northeast of Egypt.
“We are extremely grateful for this generous donation to
help a poor community already having to adapt to the
demands of a settled lifestyle after centuries of
nomadic existence,” said Bishow Parajuli, WFP
Representative to Egypt.
Despite overall positive economic indicators in Egypt,
the Bedouin communities in Sinai suffer from high levels
of poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. South
Sinai Bedouins also live with inadequate housing, a
severe shortage of drinking water and limited
educational opportunities.
The funds, which are being channelled through the South
Sinai Regional Development Project, will help establish
basic schools and health centres, and reclaim some 1,000
feddans (405 hectares) as agricultural plots for
families. They will also support the construction of a
small dam in Zaghra valley near Dahab city, for drinking
and irrigation water.
In co-operation with the Government of Egypt, WFP will
use the funds to create individual and communal assets –
like basic school, health centres and water supplies –
to help improve livelihoods and living standards among
over 12,000 Bedouins, half of them women, in the poorest
areas of south Sinai.
The project includes improving the housing conditions
and access to drinking water as well as educational and
health services.
According to a joint study by WFP and Egypt’s National
Nutrition Institute, as many as 40 percent of children
under five suffer from stunting while nearly 19 percent
of the same group suffer from acute malnutrition or
wasting. Inadequate diet affects 85 percent of children
and mothers. Literacy rates are also very low,
especially among girls, reaching less than 10 percent in
some communities.
“The EC is very interested in development schemes that
empower people and help them become self-reliant. For
example, apart from construction of physical
infrastructures such as schools, health posts, and
nutritional support, this project includes training
sessions for Bedouins on agricultural extension skills,
small livestock production, and tourism-related skills
particularly foreign languages,” said Dr. Klaus Ebermann,
EU Ambassador to Egypt.
The three-year project will also include microcredit
schemes such as funds to start up small herds. The
Governorate of South Sinai is also actively exploring
ways to engage the Bedouins in the booming tourism
industry.
WFP will also use the funds to provide school meals for
up to 5,000 pupils to improve their nutrition and give
them an incentive to attend classes regularly. School
meals not only alleviate hunger and boost enrolment and
attendance, but also improve children’s ability to
concentrate and learn.
The proposed project will be implemented by the official
Sinai Development Project, while different ministries
will participate to ensure the provision of services in
the newly developed sites. Other government authorities,
such as the National Nutrition Institute and the
National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, will also
support the project.
WFP has delivered US$637.2 million in development
assistance to Egypt since it began operations in 1963.
It recently signed a new five-year programme (2007-2011)
worth US$44 million to focus on technical assistance to
strengthen the Government’s capacity to reform its
safety-net programmes and address the food needs of the
poor. |
