UNICEF supports Egypt’s efforts in confronting coronavirus by $17M

CAIRO – 22 June 2020: "The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will provide about $17 million to support the Egyptian government's efforts to confront the coronavirus pandemic," said Minister of International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat on June 22.

Mashat pointed out the importance of the partnership between UNICEF and the development partners such as the United States Agency for International Development, Britain and the rest of the United Nations agencies, especially in projects that focus on empowering women and strengthening the knowledge base for more sensitive social protection for children.

This came ahead of Mashat's meeting with Representative of the United Nations Children's Fund "UNICEF" in Egypt, Bruno Maes, via video conference, which discussed the current and future areas of cooperation between the Egyptian government and the organization to tackle the coronavirus, child protection and women's empowerment.

The minister also stressed the significance of the compatibility of projects implemented by UNICEF in Egypt with the new strategy of the Ministry of International Cooperation in partnership with international financing institutions.

For his part, Bruno Maes thanked the Ministry of International Cooperation for cooperating with him during his tenure as a representative of UNICEF in Egypt that started in 2015 and will end in the next two weeks.

He pointed out that Egypt has witnessed several accomplishments and wide reforms in the field of protecting and caring for children, which led to reducing the child mortality rate and universal access to education.

Maes said that the organization has managed over the past two years to provide about $100 million in grants to Egypt in several areas of social and health protection for children and women, including projects in the neediest areas such as North Sinai, in addition to providing $17 million to support the Egyptian government's initiatives to tackle the coronavirus.

He added that the request of the Ministry of International Cooperation for medical supplies will be fulfilled during the coming period, praising the new strategy of the Ministry of International Cooperation in partnership with international financing institutions, which will contribute to developing areas of cooperation between Egypt and UNICEF.