The World Bank approved new funding of $500 million for three years to help Egypt strengthen the country s social safety nets, the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation said Wednesday.
The new financing is aimed to support the expansion of the “Takaful and Karama” cash transfer programme, which was launched in 2015, for an additional three years, the ministry said in a statement on its official website.
"As Egypt implements the second phase of the economic reformme programme, we remain committed to providing sustainable income-generating opportunities," Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said, according to the statement.
"This partnership with the World Bank builds on the success of the Takaful and Karama programme and the World Bank s support for our goal to achieve sustainable growth for all Egyptians,” Minister Nasr added.
Meanwhile, according to the statement, Marina Wes, World Bank country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti said the bank, through this program, continues to support Egypt s efforts to develop human resources and create jobs, which she said are essential for the success of the country s reform programmes.
Wes added that promoting sustainable and comprehensive growth requires effective support to escape from the cycle of poverty, according to the statement.
The Takaful and Karama programme, which translates to "Solidarity and Dignity," was launched in 2015 with $400 million in financing from the World Bank
The Programme has reached more than two million impoverished households nationwide, benefiting approximately nine million individuals across all 27 governorates, or approximately 10 percent of Egypt’s population, with women comprising 88 percent of the programme’s beneficiaries.
This programme, carried out by the social solidarity ministry, offers monthly conditional pensions to vulnerable families and non-conditional pensions to poor, elderly citizens and people with severe disabilities and diseases, as well as orphans.
"Our partnership with the World Bank helps us design programmes that improve quality of life and build humans,” Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly said, accordingto the statement.
The World Bank currently has 16 projects in Egypt, worth a total of $7.5 billion.
