Egypt

Second grader Ahmed loves to draw at his Save the Children-supported school

Since 1982, Save the Children has been working to help Egyptian boys and girls enjoy childhood and reach their full potential. We improve access to health services and quality education, as well as provide support for street children and others at risk.

Our Egypt team partners with local groups on health, education, child protection, livelihood and other critical initiatives. In 2010, services reached 2 and a half million children and families in impoverished communities throughout Egypt. 

Challenges for Children

Millions of Egyptian children are born into poverty, where malnutrition at a young age translates into lifelong health problems. The pressures of making ends meet drive many families to put their children to work, often in dangerous jobs that jeopardize their health as well as their futures.

With many families facing break up or a difficult existence in large urban slums, street children have become an unwelcome feature of too many cities. Hundreds of thousands of rural adolescent girls are discouraged from completing school and face lives of early marriage, illiteracy and domestic abuse. Likewise, each year, hundreds of thousands of youth graduate to find either they don’t have the skills for a job, or that there are no jobs available.

Facts about Egypt

• Over 9 out 10 girls are subjected to female genital cutting   (DHS 2008)
• Nearly 3 million youth (age 15-24) cannot read (UNDP: Egypt’s Progress Toward Achieving the MDGs)
• 30 percent of children under 5 are stunted   (DHS 2008)
• Poverty in Upper Egypt affects 2 out of 5 children (UNDP: Egypt’s Progress Toward Achieving the MDGs)

Emergency relief and recovery

Egyptian children face even greater challenges in the wake of the 2011 “Tahrir Square Revolution”. While children were injured during the violent protests, many still remain at risk in the uncertain days ahead – as school in some regions is still closed for example. Egypt also serves as Save the Children’s base of operations for larger relief efforts in the Middle East and North Africa region, including Libya. Read more about the region

Save the Children Country Director Geof Giacomini blogs from Cairo about the needs of children in the aftermath of the revolution. Read his post about Baraka, a street child he met in Tahrir Square.

Impact and Programs

Save the Children programs in Egypt include education, health, nutrition, community development and much more.

Early child development programs provide care in settings close to children, including home-based preschools in remote rural areas. Participation has increased four-fold since 2003, with more than 200 preschools now serving boys and girls in villages.

“I wish all the children could join Save the Children’s preschool class so they can do well in school like me,” said Fatma, a seven-year-old Egyptian girl. Read her story

Education and school health and nutrition programs promote active learning for 70,000 students in over 200 schools. In the communities benefitting from Save the Children programs, 98 % of primary school students passed the national primary school examination certificate.

Our safe pregnancy and infant nutrition programs promote access to check-ups, health education and more. Meet Attyiat, a young mother who had suffered dangerous miscarriages before learning in our programs. Read her story 

To support the growing youth population, Save the Children sponsors life skills, livelihood, internships, and artisan programs to prepare young people for further education, life opportunities and challenges.

Support Save the Children
Charitable contributions from people like you make it possible for us to support programs in Egypt, and so much more. Please support our mission and work around the world with a gift to our Global Action Fund. You can count on us to be good stewards of your generous donation, helping vulnerable children where the need is greatest with whatever they need the most. You can help make a difference by supporting all the work that Save the Children does to help children in need in the U.S. and around the world. 

Last Updated April 2011