Egypt condemned the “cowardly attack” that targeted the medical staff working in the mobile health clinics of the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) in the Yemeni city of Taiz, stressing its rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism. Targeting humanitarian workers is a clear violation of international norms, treaties and covenants that provide protection for relief and rescue workers and medical personnel and hinders the sustainability of relief operations and humanitarian aid reaching the affected areas in Yemen, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Egypt values the ERC s humanitarian efforts in Yemen, which contribute to alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni people, the statement continued. While the ERC condemned the terrorist act that targeted its humanitarian workers in Taiz, it said it will continue its humanitarian efforts in Yemen despite the risks, reported the United Arab Emirates state-run WAM news agency.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi urged consolidating the state’s efforts to produce advanced prosthetics in Egypt, based on latest technology, with the assistance of foreign expertise, the presidency said on Monday in a statement. In a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Social Solidarity Minister Nevin Al-Qabbaj, El-Sisi also urged securing prosthetic rehabilitation programmes to ensure people with mobility impairment can properly use these prosthetics. These programmes aim at integrating people with disabilities into society and the job market, especially youth, children and women breadwinners. During the meeting, Al-Qabbaj reviewed a programme for community development dubbed Waiy (Awareness). The programme includes development initiatives for many families, including programmes for the early detection of a disability as well as programmes for family planning, child health, drug control and others to combat addiction, illiteracy and poverty. The president urged increasing financial resources allocated from the donation-based Tahya Misr fund to support these programs as well as raise the number of staff working to spread awareness messages within the framework of the Waiy programme.

A human rights committee formed by Egypt’s prosecution inspected three Qalioubiya-based Qanater prisons to check the conditions of prisoners and ensure preventive measures against the coronavirus are adopted properly, a statement by the prosecution read on Sunday. The committee comprised members of the prosecution’s human rights administration, the technical official of the top prosecutor, and southern Benha prosecution, the statement added. The inspectors followed up on the conditions of the inmates in the three prisons located in northern Egypt and reviewed the legal procedures adopted with the prisoners to ensure their human rights are preserved in line with the constitution and the law. The committee followed up on the measures taken if a coronavirus case is detected in one of the prisons, including isolating patients, sterilising contaminated places, and providing the required treatment. The members of the committee inspected each of the prisons’ affiliated hospital and checked a random sample of medicine from their pharmacies for expiry date. The statement added the committee received complaints from the prisoners regarding conditional release and the subtraction of pre-trial detention from the sentence some inmates have received. Egyptian human rights delegations and parliament’s human rights committee have earlier made several visits to different prisons nationwide to make sure human rights are preserved. These visits come while many reports by foreign human rights groups, including the Human Rights Watch, have criticised “violations”, “torture” and “forcible disappearance” allegedly carried out by Egyptian authorities. Egypt’s State Information Service usually slams the allegations.