italian - egyptian debt for development swap | final

ITALIAN - EGYPTIAN DEBT FOR DEVELOPMENT SWAP

PROGRAMME

FINAL

REPORT 2001 - 2008

This Report has been published by the Technical Support Unit (TSU) to the Management Committee Italian-Egyptian Debt for Development Swap Program (2001-2008) Director: Roberto Schuller Drafted by Marco Ginestro and Antonio Bottone (TSU) With the contribution of: Sara Berlese, Ismail Faramawi, Salvatore Ficara, Marco Marchetti, Annamaria Meligrana, Raffaella Rucci, Giovanna Santaniello, Roberto Schuller, Piero Scerrino, Piera Solinas, Andrea Tani Edited by Sara Berlese All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission or reference to this source. Printed in November 2008

Italian Egyptian Debt for Development Swap Program

IEDS Final Report 2008 1

Acronyms AAE Association for the Advancement of Education (NGO) AES Agricultural Experimental Station ADEW Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women (NGO) ARC Agricultural Research Centre BDC Business Development Centres CAPMAS Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics CBE Central Bank of Egypt CDA Community Development Association CIERA Centro Italo-Egiziano per il Restauro e le Antichità CIU Consultation and Information Unit CLEQM Central Laboratory for Environment Quality Monitoring - NWRC COSPE Cooperazione per lo Sviluppo dei Paesi Emergenti (NGO) CPF Counterpart Fund of the Debt Swap program EEAA Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency FAO Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations FGM Female Genital Mutilations FHU Family Health Unit FHH Female Head of Household GAEB General Authority for Education Building GALAE General Authority for Literacy and Adult Education ICED International Centre for Environment and Development (NGO) ICT Information and Communication Technologies IEDS Italian Egyptian Debt Swap Program IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IMC Executive Organization for Industrial and Mining Projects – MOFTI IMIS Integrated Migration Information System IOM International Organization for Migration LE Livre Egyptienne MC Management Committee of the Debt Swap program MAE-DGCS Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – General Directorate for Cooperation MALR Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation MAIS Movimento per l’Autosviluppo, l’interscambio e la Solidarietà (NGO) MCC Medio Credito Centrale Italiano MCIT Ministry of Communication and Information Technology MDGs Millennium Development Goals MME Ministry of Manpower and Emigration MOE Ministry of Education MOF Ministry of Finance MOHP Ministry of Health and Population MOSS Ministry of Social Solidarity MOT Ministry of Tourism MOTI Ministry of Trade and Industry MRI Medical Research Institute MWRI Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation NCCM National Council for Childhood and Motherhood NCS Nature Conservation Sector NCW National Council for Women



NGO Non Governmental Organization NVAD New Vision Association for Development (NGO) NWRC National Water Research Centre - Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation ODA Official Development Assistance PAP Poverty Alleviation Program PHC Primary Health Care PIC Poison Information Centre PMU Project Management Unit SCA Supreme Council of Antiquities SGI Società Generale di Ingegneria SRU Strategic Research Unit UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UN Habitat United Nations Human Settlements Program UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNODC United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention VCT Voluntary Counselling and Testing WFP World Food Programme WNRDP West Nubariya Rural Development Programme WRRI Water Resources Research Institute WUA Water Users Associations TSU Technical Support Unit to the Debt Swap Management Committee



Table of Contents Preface 1. Origins: the Debt Swap Agreement 6 2. The Counterpart Fund 7 3. Governing Bodies 8 4. Selection of Projects 9 5. Monitoring of the Projects 10 6. Complementary Actions of the Technical Support Unit 11 7. The Program 12 Projects Data report 19 IDS/01 - West Noubaria Rural Development Project 20

IDS/02 - Poverty Alleviation and Employment Generation Program 25

IDS/03 - Establishment of Data Base in Rural Areas with the Introduction of Family Health Approach 29

IDS/05 - Sustainable Rural Development of Wadi El Rayan and Fayoum New Land Settlement 31

IDS/06 - Prevention and Control of the Risk of Chemical Poisoning and Unsafe Handling of Chemicals 35

IDS/07 - Marketing Link Programme: Linking Crafts Producers from Marginal Communities to National and International Markets 37

IDS/08 - Multi Faceted Women’s Development Project in Minya Governorate 40

IDS/09 - Completion of Pottery Village 43

IDS/10 - Information and Communication Technologies to Foster Egypt’s Sustainable Human Development 45

IDS/11 - Support to Local Agricultural Cooperatives Established in Newly Settled Areas in Upper Egypt 49

IDS/12 - Protection of Working Children in Manshiet Nasser 52

IDS/13 - School Feeding in Upper Egypt 56

IDS/14 - Passive In-Stream Wetland Treatment of Drain Water 59

IDS/15 - Environmental Impact Assessment of Drinking Water Using Hand-Pump Systems 61

IDS/16 - Directory of Services for Persons with Special Needs in Greater Cairo Area 63

IDS/17 - Female Genital Mutilation - Free Village Model 65

IDS/18 - The National Project for Drug Abuse Demand Reduction among Youth 69

IDS/19 - Schools Construction 72

IDS/20 - Think Twice - Social Marketing and Communication Campaigns for Empowering Young People in Egypt 74

IDS/21 - Expansion of the Beheira School Health Programme 77

IDS/22 - Egyptian-Italian Environmental Cooperation Programme – Phase II 79



IDS/23 - National Biodiversity and Natural Heritage Inventory and Monitoring Systems (BioMap) 89

IDS/24 - Evaluation, Development and Execution of some Flash Flood Protection Works at Wadi Watier – South Sinai 92

IDS/25 - Water Resources Management for Agricultural Sustainable Development in the Southern Valley 94

IDS/26 - Leprosy Elimination in Egypt 97

IDS/27 - Participatory Slum Upgrading in Ismailiya 99

IDS/28 - Extension of the Medical Research Institute 102

IDS/29 - Food for Work 104

IDS/30 - Assessment of Water Users Associations in Egypt 106

IDS/31 - A Strategic Long-Term Water-Based Food Security Model for Egypt 108

IDS/32 - Integrating Community-Based Waste Management into International Contracting 109

IDS/33 - HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control in Egypt 111

IDS/34 - Brackish Water Desalination for Urbanization of Remote Arid Areas in Egypt 113

IDS/35 - Support and Development Health Programmes for Working Children in 3 Governorates through Primary Health Care Level 115

IDS/36 - Rural Development Communication Network (RADCON) 117

IDS/37 - Traceability of Agro-Industrial Products for the European Market 119

IDS/38 - Street Children Protection 122

IDS/39 - Robaiki Industrial Leather and Tanneries City 125

IDS/40 - Empowerment of Female-Heads of Household in Low-Income Communities 129

IDS/41 - Northern Cairo Public Awareness Campaign for Environmental Development Project 132

IDS/42 - Rehabilitation of Beheira Water Supply System 135

IDS/44 - Improving Living Conditions of Low Income Families in three Districts of the Governorate of Sohag 137

IDS/45 - Development of Women Entrepreneurship and Gender Equality Promotion 139

IDS/46 - Improving Quality of Life for Children and Families in Old Cairo 141

IDS/47 - Sustainable Development through Enhancement of NGO Kindergarten Services 144

IDS/48 - Improving Education Quality in Siwa 146

IDS/49 - Creation of Sustainable Job Opportunities to Alleviate Poverty and Unemployment in Minya 149

IDS/50 - Improving Living Conditions of Children with Special Needs 152

IDS/51 - Infrastructural Support to External Employment Department of the Ministry of Manpower and Emigration 155

IDS/52 - Dolphins Habitat Conservation and Sustainable Use 157

IDS/53 - Pilot Project for the Green Corridor 160



Preface

The purpose of this publication is to provide a synthetic and systematic analysis of the 53 projects financed through the Italian-Egyptian Debt Swap Program (2001-2008) giving snapshots of their main peculiarities, objectives and achieved results. The Report is the outcome of TSU monitoring activity, which have been mainly carried out through the analysis of projects’ periodical progress reports, field visits and interviews with beneficiaries. In order to harmonize the content of the whole document, projects’ data sheets have been drafted according to a standard format, which contains: i) a summary table with the basic features of the project (such as overall budget, duration, starting date, expected completion date, etc.); ii) a description of project objectives; iii) a description of expected results; iv) an analysis of the results achieved at the completion of activities. Moreover, in view of the approaching closing date of the first Debt Swap Agreement, set on December 31, 2008, this Report has been also enriched thanks to the additional contribution of the Office for Development Cooperation - Embassy of Italy, with a section dedicated to a preliminary evaluation of the socio-economic impact produced by each single project. In this sense, the Report cannot be considered a merely update of IEDS Annual Reports 2006 and 2007, but it is a comprehensive review of the Italian-Egyptian Debt Swap experience over the period 2001-2008. Therefore, starting from the analysis of single projects, the Report offers, at the same time, an overall picture of the Program, which is being considered a success story for both the Egyptian Government and the Italian Cooperation: debt swap mechanism has become a best practice for the consolidation of a new pattern of development cooperation, a genuine partnership on a peer basis between donor and beneficiary countries. It is worth mentioning that, in addition to this Report, a further study titled “Partner for Development - the Experience of the Italian-Egyptian Debt Swap Program 2001-2008” was commissioned by the IEDS Management Committee to an international team of leading experts, headed by Prof. Samir Radwan1. The study which, provide an independent and “above the parts” analysis of the Italian Egyptian Debt Swap Program, highlights, through a comprehensive approach, the Program’s strategy, which is not to be considered merely a sum of the 53 projects, but as a well-thought integrated approach addressed to the Egyptian socio-economic structure. Finally, IEDS Final Report 2001-2008 represents a guide and a strong landmark to explain the success of the Italian-Egyptian Debt Swap experience and therefore understand why the two Governments, on June 3, 2007, decided to replicate the experience by signing a new Debt-for-Development Swap Agreement for the period 2007-2012 and an overall amount of USD 100 million.

1 Radwan Samir (et al.), Partners for Development - the Experience of the Italian-Egyptian Debt Swap Program 2001-2008, Cairo, 2008. An additional study prepared by the same author is Exchanging Debt for Development: Lessons from the Egyptian Debt-for-Development Swap Experience, published by the Economic Research Forum in 2005 which, by comparing the Italian and the Swiss Debt Swap programs in Egypt, provides an evaluation of the debt swap tool for socio-economic development, with special emphasis on innovative information and communication technology (ICT) projects.



Italian Egyptian Debt Swap Program

1 Origins: the Debt Swap Agreement

“Debt Swap” is shorthand for a transaction in which the government or an organization of a creditor country retires a fraction of a developing country’s external debt, in exchange for a commitment by the debtor government to invest local currency in designated initiatives. In essence, the debt swap concept can also be viewed as a form of foreign assistance to a debtor country by its creditors, whether these creditors are credit-granting governments or simply commercial institutions. Italy and Egypt signed the “Debt-for-Development Swap” agreement in Rome on February 19, 2001 with the aim of converting eligible Official Development Assistance (ODA) bilateral debt owed by the Arab Republic of Egypt to the Italian Republic into financial resources to implement development projects in Egypt. The total amount of debt subject to swap operations under the Agreement is approximately $ 149 million within a period of five years (July 2001 – July 2006). The duration of the agreement has been extended to December 2008 in order to allow projects financed through the Agreement to complete activities for which funds have been committed before June 30, 2008

Egypt is one of a number of middle-income countries that have taken advantage of the growing international awareness for the debt relief of developing nations. Egypt has negotiated four bilateral Debt Swap agreements, with the Governments of France (1994), Switzerland (1995), Germany and Italy (2001).

In Italy debt swap operations are regulated by law no. 449/1997 and law 209/2000. The regulation establishes, among other things, that swaps can be carried out only for debts of countries "for which a multilateral understanding has been reached" among the creditor members of the Paris Club.

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2 The Counterpart Fund

According to Art. 2 of the IEDS Agreement, a Counterpart Fund (CPF) in Egyptian Pounds was opened within the Cental Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the Egyptian Government deposited into the CPF the equivalent, in Egyptian Pounds, of each installment of the ODA debt (principal and interest) due to the Italian Government at its maturity date, in the period between 9 July 2001 and 8 July 2006.

The Central Bank of Egypt communicated to the Italian institution the amount deposited into the CPF and after relevant verification the debt installment was cancelled. The exchange rate US$/Egyptian pound was calculated at the due date of each installment.

The mechanism of the transfer of funds into the CPF was directly linked to the process of projects selection since the outstanding amount of the CPF (that is the total amount of debt installments converted and transferred into the CPF) should not exceed the total budget of selected projects.

Installments of funds are transferred from the CPF to projects’ accounts every six months according to the approved financial plans. They are dependant on the performance of the projects reflected in the progress reports and in the related updated work plan and financial plan.

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3 Governing Bodies

3.1 The Management Committee

The Italian Egyptian Debt for Development Swap Program is managed by a bilateral Management Committee (MC) supported by a Technical Support Unit (TSU) which acts as a MC secretariat, by monitoring the implementation and evaluating the results achieved by each project.

The Management Committee includes representatives of both parties: on behalf of the Government of the Italian Republic, the Ambassador of Italy to Egypt assisted by experts in the sector of development cooperation and other specific sectors as the case may be; on behalf of the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Minister of International Cooperation, assisted by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Egypt as well as representatives of other relevant Ministries and/or organizations as the case may be.

The major tasks of the Management Committee, whose meetings are normally held three times a year, are to monitor the correct implementation of the agreement, to select projects to be financed by the funds generated by the debt-for-development swap, to monitor their implementation and verify their achievements.

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3.2 Technical Support Unit According to art. 4.1 of the Agreement, the Management Committee is responsible for monitoring projects implementation and verifying their achievements. To this end, a Technical Support Unit (TSU) acting as Management Committee Secretariat is appointed under the direct responsibility of the Heads of the Committee. The TSU also provides technical support to the Management Committee for the selection of projects and for monitoring the implementation of the whole agreement. The TSU is composed of Italian and Egyptian staff and maintains constant contacts with all the projects financed. The TSU established procedures for drafting the technical and financial progress reports to be submitted by the projects and constantly monitors the progress of each project, both from the technical and financial side, through reports, meetings and field visits. The TSU also monitors the transfer of funds in and out of the CPF and their utilization in accordance with the plans of the approved projects, also evaluating requests for adjustments to the approved plans in order to adapt to the changing conditions during the life of the project. Moreover the TSU implements strategies directed at the capacity building of the projects’ staff where needed and, in order to strengthen sustainability and impact, the TSU facilitates also synergies among projects and links with other development initiatives in the country.

4 Selection of Projects

Funds collected in the CPF mainly finance projects in the fields of human development, poverty alleviation and environmental protection, but they may also be used to finance local costs of relevant projects and programs undertaken by the Italian Development Cooperation in Egypt.

As for the applicants considered eligible for IEDS financing, the organizations entitled to apply are the Egyptian Ministries and Public Institutions, Egyptian NGOs, Italian NGOs and United Nations Agencies.

The Management Committee is responsible for project selection upon evaluation of the proposal presented by the applicants, the details of which are listed below. Each applicant must first submit their logical framework and work plan followed by a resource allocation sheet and, finally, a budget.

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Upon completion of the project selection process, the budget of each selected project is allocated and disbursed according to the relevant annual financial plan and progress achieved.

5 Monitoring of the Projects

Financial and technical monitoring is very important for an effective management of the fund and the sustainability of the projects. Every six months all projects are required to submit a technical and financial progress report to the MC to specify achievements, activities, results and expenditures according to the work plan targets. The TSU assists the Projects in drafting progress reports correctly, according to the standard format, while at the same time strengthening the capacities of projects’ staff in order to improve the performance of technical and financial project management.

For financial monitoring, the TSU has adopted the methodology of “Performance Budget” and “Activity Based Financial Planning” where expenditures are related to activities implemented. Assisting the projects to adopt this vision required full involvement of the TSU in the area of capacity building, institutional empowerment and knowledge transfer to raise and upgrade the skills of the projects' staff. The philosophy behind this is not only to facilitate the monitoring activities but also to express a strong commitment towards improving national institutions performance and accountability through capacity building. Within this wide broader vision the monitoring technique becomes part of the project learning process which eventually results in enhancing the project performance in management and reporting.

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Whereas necessary, monitoring is done through the assistance of an external auditor, to verify financial performance of the implementer, and avoids any mismanagement of funds.

6 Complementary Actions of the Technical Support Unit

The monitoring activity of the TSU is extremely helpful in identifying the specific needs of the different partners in relation to the management of development projects. As a consequence, interventions for capacity building are carried out by the TSU in order to improve projects performance and management approach. Actions for capacity building are developed through:

• specific meetings with projects staff; • thematic workshops; • guidelines and tools for project management.

Moreover, in order to strengthen impact and sustainability of the projects, the TSU is deeply involved in promoting synergies and forms of cooperation among projects. This is achieved through facilitating meetings and specific activities involving:

• Projects funded by IEDS; • Projects funded by the Italian Cooperation; • Initiatives of international institutions and other donors.

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7 The Program

7.1 Projects Financed The process of selection of projects under the Debt Swap Agreement officially closed in 2004 and all funds available were allocated. The Italian Egyptian Debt Swap program finances 53 development projects, plus the TSU running costs, with a total approved budget of LE 838,722,676.2 The table here following lists the initiatives financed:

2 At October 31, 2008, all projects financed are completed, except for IDS/1, IDS/11, IDS/22, IDS/23, IDS/27, IDS/37 and IDS/39 which will complete last pending activities within 31st December 2008. Unspent balance of IEDS projects will be used to provide further support to Robaiki Leather City Initiative.



Pr. IDS

Applicant Implem. Agency Project LocationApproved Budget LE

Allocated Budget LE

1 MALR MARL West Noubaria Rural Development Project West Noubaria 150.620.000 143.140.398

2 MOSS MOSS Poverty Alleviation and Employment Gen. Asyut, Qena, Sohag 37.500.000 32.511.764

3 MOHP MOHP Family Health Database Beheira, Qalyubeya 34.093.000 34.093.000

4 CAIRO GOV. UNESCO Traditional Arts and Crafts Old Cairo - El Fustat 1.562.800 -

5 MALR MALR / COSPE Sustainable Rural Development Wadi Rayan 12.613.000 12.613.000

6 MOHP MOHP Prevention of Chemical Poisoning Minya, Dakahleya, Cairo 1.983.150 1.983.150

7 COSPE COSPE Marketing Link Program National 1.261.020 1.261.020

8 NCW NCW Multi-faceted Micro-credit for Women Mynia 6.807.400 6.807.400

9 MOT MOT Completion of Pottery Village Old Cairo - El Fustat 5.985.414 5.985.414

10 MCIT UNDP ICT for Sustainable Human Development National 48.434.754 48.434.753

11 MALR MALR Support to Agricultural Cooperatives Fayum, Beni Suef, Asyut, Sohag, Aswan 25.968.820 25.968.820

12 NCCM NCCM Protection of Working Children Manshiet Nasser 4.190.709 4.190.709

13 WFP WFP/ MALR School Feeding Fayum, BeniSuef, Minya 42.489.905 42.489.905

14 NWRC CLEQM Wetland Treatment of Drain Water Gharbeya, Daqahleya 1.375.000 1.375.000

15 NWRC CLEQM Assessment of Hand-pump Systems Gharbeya, Qalyubeya 1.425.000 1.425.000

16 CARITAS SETI CARITAS Directory for Special Needs Services Greater Cairo 275.440 275.440

17 NCCM UNDP FGM Free Village Model National 2.079.000 2.079.000

18 NCCM NCCM / UNODC Campaign to Reduce Drug Abuse National 8.005.000 8.005.000

19 GAEB GAEB Schools Construction Minya, Sharqeya, Sohag 42.768.683 42.578.989

20 NCCM UNDP Think Twice Social Campaigns for Youth National 14.584.416 14.584.415

21 MOHP MOHP School Health Program National 2.225.000 2.225.000

22 EEAA UNDP Environmental Program Phase 2 National 19.900.060 18.853.420

23 EEAA UNDP Inventory of National Biodiversity National 6.841.410 6.841.410

24 NWRC WRRI Flash Floods Protection Works Wadi Watier 13.000.000 13.000.000

25 NWRC NWRC Agricultural Development in the Southern Valley Toshka 11.412.000 11.412.000

26 MOHP MOHP Leprosy Elimination Program National 1.032.000 1.032.000

27 ISMAILIYA GOV. UNDP Participatory Slum Upgrading Ismailya 18.744.300 18.744.300

28 MRI MRI Extension of Medical Research Institute Alexandria 1.735.000 1.735.000

29 CARITAS CARITAS Food for Work - Leprosarium Village National 1.450.440 1.450.440

30 NWRC NWRC Assessment of Water Users Associations National 200.000 200.000

31 NWRC NWRC Food Security Model National 200.000 200.000

32 ICED ICED Community-based Waste Management Cairo 1.916.000 1.916.000

33 MOHP MOHP HIV/AIDS Prevention National 2.165.675 2.165.675

34 ALEX UNIV. ALEX UNIV. Brackish Water Desalination Alexandria 5.483.840 5.483.840

35 MOHP MOHP Improving Health of Working Children Menufeya, Asyut, Cairo 1.900.000 1.900.000

36 FAO FAO Rural Development Communication Network National 9.240.000 9.240.000

37 MOTI UNIDO/MOTI Traceability of Agro-industrial Products National 45.672.060 40.449.547

38 TOFULTY TOFULTY Street Children Protection Cairo 4.648.652 4.648.652

39 MOTI MOTI Robaiki Leather and Tanneries City Robaiki 162.030.000 162.030.000

40 ADEW ADEW Empowerment of Female Heads of Households Cairo -Manshiet Nassser 9.430.550 8.991.830

41 NCCM NCCM Environmental Development Awareness North Cairo 4.250.000 4.250.001

42 BEHEIRA GOV. BWADC Rehabilitation of Water Supply System Beheira 50.000.000 50.000.000

43 SCA SCA Yashbak Palace Restoration Training Cairo 1.600.000 173.000

44 APS MAIS Literacy and Vocational Training for Children Sohag 1.840.800 1.840.800

45 MOVIMONDO MOVIMONDO Women Entrepreneurship Giza 1.997.686 1.997.686

46 MAIS MAIS Improving Quality of Life in Old Cairo Old Cairo 1.999.900 1.999.900

47 CKSL CKSL Enhancement of Kindergartens Services Fayum, Asyut, Siwa, New Valley 1.889.250 1.889.250

48 AAE AAE-COSPE Improvement of Education Siwa 1.986.715 1.986.715

49 NVD NVD-COSPE Improvement of Job Opportunities Minya 1.999.475 1.999.475

50 MOVIMONDO MOVIMONDO Children with Special Needs Giza 1.998.050 1.998.050

51 MME IOM Support to External Employment Department National 311.000 311.000

52 ABU SALAMA ABU SALAMA Protecting Dolphin Habitat Marsa Alam 1.327.350 1.327.350

53 MOTI MALR Green Corridor Pilot Project West Noubaria 1.902.250 1.575.241

IDS - TSU IDS -TSU Support to TSU Running Costs 2.370.702 2.370.702

838.722.676 816.040.462Total Program Budget



7.2 Applicants and Implementing Agencies The share of the total budget among the projects according to type of applicant is the following:

Distribution of Projects by Applicant

Italian NGOs, 1%

Egyptian Public Institutions; 26%

Egyptian NGOs, 3%

UN Agencies, 6%

Egyptian Ministries, 64%

The share of the total budget according to the type of implementing agency is the following:

Distribution of Projects by Implementing Agencies

Italian NGOs, 1%

Egyptian Public

Institutions; 18%

Egyptian NGOs, 3%

UN Agencies,

25%

Egyptian Ministries;

53%

The difference between the two distributions is due to the fact that some projects approved to Egyptian institutions or ministries are implemented with the support of UN agencies.



7.3 Geographic Coverage The projects financed cover almost the entire country: 10 projects are specifically underway in the geographic area of the Delta, 12 in Greater Cairo and Giza, 1 in Sinai, 1 in Siwa, 1 in the Red Sea area and 8 in Upper Egypt, while 20 projects operate on a national scale.

The distribution of the Projects over the country is shown in the following chart:

Geographical Distribution

Siwa, 0.24%

Upper Egypt, 17%

Sinai, 2%

Delta, 33%

Red Sea, 0.16%

Greater Cairo and Giza, 23%

National; 25%

DDeellttaa 1100

GGrreeaatteerr CCaaiirroo aanndd GGiizzaa 1122

SSiiwwaa 11

SSiinnaaii 11

UUppppeerr EEggyypptt 88

RReedd SSeeaa 11

NNaattiioonnaall PPrroojjeeccttss 2200



7.4 Sectors of Interventions As far the areas of development are concerned, obviously there is going to be some overlap between the various areas of development and the results of one project may be applicable in more than one sector. However, a simplistic break down of the total budget according to sector of intervention is shown in the following chart.

Project distribution by sector of intervention

Environment; 3%Microenterprises and SMEs; 19%

Water Resources and Management;

9%

Social Development;

18%

Gender Development; 2%

Education; 12%

Health; 5%

Rural Development;

32%

The large shares for the sectors of Rural development and of Micro enterprises and SMEs are due to the relative weight of the two biggest projects financed, namely IDS/1 “West Noubaria Rural Development Project” and IDS/39 “Robaiki Industrial Leather and Tanneries City”.

7.5 Projects Size

Projects can be classified, according to their budget size, as follows:

Micro projects (budget LE 0-500.000): 4 projects, representing 0.12% of the funds. Small projects (LE 500,001-2,000,000): 20 projects, representing 4.09% of the funds. Medium projects (LE 2,000,001-20,000,000): 19 projects, representing 19.32% of the

funds. Big projects (LE 20,000,001-50,000,000): 8 projects, representing 39.09% of the funds. Mega projects (LE over 50,000,000): 2 projects, representing 37.38% of the funds.



0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

LE

Total Funds by Project Size

Total Budget 986,440 34,181,886 161,606,426 326,927,222 312,650,000

Percentage 0.12% 4.09% 19.32% 39.09% 37.38%

Micro Projects Small Projects Medium Projects Big Projects Mega Projects

7.6 Financial Figures At 31/12/08, the total amount credited by the Government of Egypt in the Counterpart Fund amounts to LE 820,088,864 corresponding to USD 149,097,996, which means that 100% of the total debt object of the Agreement (July 2001 – July 2006) has been converted. At 31/12/08 the total funds transferred from the CPF to the accounts of the projects amount to LE 816,040,462 representing 99.5% of the amount credited to the CPF by the Egyptian Government. As for projects’ expenditure, at 31/12/08 the total estimated disbursement by the projects amounts to LE 810,232,769 representing about the 99.3% of the related funds transferred to those projects. The Project Data Report in the next section will also provide an indication of each project budget in Euros. The exchange rate LE-EURO utilized (1 EURO = LE 6.34) represents an estimation calculated for exclusively statistical purposes, as average rate recorded within the whole conversion period from July 2001 to July 2006.

AS PER DECEMBER 2008

Total debt cancelled: USD 149,097,996 (100% of the total amount agreed) Total funds credited to the CPF: LE 820,088,864. Total funds transferred from CPF to the projects: LE 816,040,462 (99.5% of

the amount credited). Total estimated expenditures by projects: LE 810,232,769 (99.3% of funds

transferred to projects)



804,000,000806,000,000

808,000,000810,000,000

812,000,000814,000,000

816,000,000818,000,000

820,000,000

822,000,000

LE

Situation at December 31, 2008

LE 820,088,864 816,040,462 810,232,769

Total amount transferred to

CPF

Total amount transferred to the Projects

Total amount spent by the

Projects



Projects Data Report



WEST NOUBARIA RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Project Code: IDS/01 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation

Total Project Budget: LE 270,736,976 (Euro 42,702,993) IDS Share: LE 150,620,000 (Euro 23,757,098)

Project expenditure at June 2008: LE 130,239,304 (Euro 20,542,480) Other Contributions: LE 120,116,975 (Euro 18,945,895)

Location: Noubaria (Gov. Alexandria, Beheira) Project Duration: 6 years

Start Date: September 16, 2002 Expected Completion Date: December 31, 2008

OBJECTIVE

The project is jointly financed by the IEDS, the IFAD and the Egyptian Government and it is implemented in an area of newly reclaimed desert lands in West Noubaria (West Delta),

The whole area is settled by families of displaced farmers (67% of the population) and of recent graduates (33% of the population), who moved to Noubaria in the framework of the Mubarak Project, launched in 1987. The total number of beneficiaries of the project is about 39,000

people, living in 86 villages.

The total project area of 226,000 feddan (23,520 hectares) is divided in two areas: first priority area of 19 villages covering 56,000 fd, and secondary priority area of 67 villages covering 170,000 fd. Families of 16,778 beneficiaries (of which 60% are displaced farmers, 6% small holding farmers, and 34% are recently graduates) settle the first priority area. The secondary priority area is settled by 19,407 families (of which 82% are recently graduates and 18% are small holding farmers).

The general objective of the project is to improve quality of life and income of beneficiaries, by supporting social services and increasing opportunities for sustainable economic activities.

EXPECTED RESULTS

The project is structured in five main components and, in particular, the first priority area benefits from the services of all five components, while the secondary priority area benefits from the services provided by the last three components.

Potatoes Production in Noubaria

Italian-Egyptian Debt for Development Swap Program


1. Community Organization and Development: through activating hygienic, environmental, educational and social infrastructure services, in addition to improve the rural women role and the local organizations be activated.

2. Technical Operations: to increase productivity and improve quality of production. 3. Marketing Operations: to increase marketing opportunities. 4. Credit Facilitation and Enterprise Development: to provide credit lines for the

beneficiaries, and to support establishment of sustainable small enterprises and small micro projects.

5. Project Management Unit: to enhance the project facilitation and the capacity building of the project’s staff to assure valid project management.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

Each project component resulted specific benefit to the beneficiaries and the integrated socio-economic situation of the project area.

Component 1

In relation to the Community Organization and Development component, the project has succeeded in completing housing improvement for 3,954 houses. Several new or refurbished social infrastructures have been established, such as 8 primary and secondary schools, 9 mosques, 10 social event halls, 12 clinics, 18 nurseries and some vocational training units. Moreover other infrastructures have been built, such as 26 bridges, canals, paved roads, tree plantations and a public transportation service has been provided. Considerable progress has been achieved in raising awareness and improving knowledge of beneficiaries through training sessions on topics such as community development, vocational training, health issues, literacy, hygienic and environmental practices. In collaboration with the WFP, more than 55,000 food rations have been distributed to enhance food security. In the last phase of the project, the strategy focused also on enhancing the role of women and of the local Community Development Associations.

Results and Benefits Activities of this component played a strong role to attract the beneficiaries to settle in the area: settlement reached now more than 95%, while this percentage was around 30-35% before starting the project’s activities. The social, educational and hygienic level of the beneficiaries remarkably increased by the end of the project.

Component 2

Within the Technical Operations component, interventions have been carried out on three main lines: crop production, livestock production and water management.

The approach followed by the project is participatory and it is based on needs assessment and provision of extension services through demonstrative plots and training.

Concerning the crop production, new cultivation techniques and practices have been spread, new varieties of products have been introduced and organic products for exports have been promoted, experimental farms, and introduction and assistance to produce compost.

With regard to livestock production, the project built a livestock station to supply beneficiaries with high quality animals. Consequently, farmers have regular access to veterinary services, including the use of artificial insemination techniques, training sessions on breeding, fattening, feeding and supply of nutritional support to improve quality of fodder.



For the last phase, the project established a pilot factory for the production and selling of buffalo mozzarella, with the cooperation and technical assistance of Italian experts and investors. The introduction of buffalo mozzarella in the Egyptian market has the objective of increasing the value of local milk production and of bringing significant economic benefits to the milk producers of Noubaria.

Regarding the water management, technology transfer and training achieved a better performance of irrigations systems, sustainability and a more rational and efficient usage of

irrigation water. In addition, the project is also strengthening the role of local Water Users Associations in order to transfer the irrigation system from sprinkler to drip irrigation system.

Results and Benefits The following impact indicators show that the all diversified activities of this component positively increased the agricultural production:

AFTER PROJECT CROP UNIT/FEDDAN BEFORE

PROJECT TRADITIONAL DEMONSTRATION

VEGETABLES WINTER VEGETABLES Peas Kgm. 800 2,400 3,400Potatoes Kgm. 6,000 8,000 11,000Tomatoes Kgm. 10,000 13,000 18,000SUMMER VEGETABLES Squash Kgm. 3,000 4,000 5,500Cucumber Kgm. 6,000 8,000 9,500

FRUITS Grapes Kgm. 3,000 5,000 8,000Citrus Kgm. 3,000 11,000 15,000Banana Kgm. 12,000 15,000 25,000

FIELD CROPS WINTER FIELD CROPS Wheat Erdab 9 12 16Berseem Kgm. 6,000 12,000 22,000

The crop pattern has been changed from the traditional crops to Cash Crops, as vegetable areas has been increased with average of 30-40%, while fruit areas has been increased with average of 20-25% compared to before project. During the project period, considerable farms changed the irrigation system from portable sprinkler to drip irrigation, saving considerable amount of irrigation water.

Livestock demonstrative plots



The total number of livestock animals increased from 7249 animals in the first year of the project activity (2003), to a total number of 20,406 animals at the end year of the project (2008). All these improvements considerably increased the income of the beneficiaries and the value of their lands.

Component 3

Regarding the Marketing Operations component, the project has so far promoted the establishment of 7 producers associations in order to open new marketing channels. Specific training activities have been carried out, focusing on the marketing development, specifications of agricultural products for exportation and advertising.

In addition, collecting outlets, already existing in the project area, have been used as marketing outlets for production and some small local markets have been established.

The project provided a fleet of transportation vehicles to facilitate transportation of the products directly from the farms to the sale markets.

Linkages between farmers and private companies, such as Agrofood, Mafa and Agriworld, have been promoted for the production of organic potatoes and summer oranges. Besides, the project, in cooperation with the Horticultural Export Improvement Association (HEIA), is supporting the establishment of a packing house for the benefit of local producers.

Finally, since the MALR assumed in 2006 the responsibility for implementing the project IDS/53 (Green Corridor Pilot Project), important cooperation activities have been carried out between the two projects, such as technical assistance and support to the cultivation and export of different products (above all artichokes and potatoes) to Italy and Europe.

Results and Benefits Thanks to a fleet of transportation vehicles and to the marketing associations, farmers have improved their selling opportunities, getting a direct link to the sale market and, consequently, better prices for their products. The promotion of agreements between farmers and exporters has also a significant impact on improving the quality of horticultural production and consequently increased beneficiaries’ income.

Component 4

In relation to the Credit Facilitation and Enterprise Development component, more than LE 20,000,000 have been disbursed as loans to beneficiaries. This credit line has been used to establish sustainable economic activities, such as cattle breeding, orchards establishment, sheep breeding, modifying irrigation systems and small enterprises establishment.

The functioning is supported by the intermediation of institutions, namely the General Cooperative Society for Reclaimed Lands, the National Mubarak Project for Graduates’ Lands, the Development Cooperatives Training Project and the Principal Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit.

In addition, applicants can benefit from training programmes and technical assistance while loan delivery is followed up with technical visits to borrowers and financial performance reports. The interest rate applied is 8.6%. The credit line is producing positive effects in terms of increased income for the beneficiaries. This success is shown also by the fact that, with regard to the instalments transferred, more than LE 17,000,000 have already been repaid back by beneficiaries. Therefore, the project has started since 2005 the operation of the revolving fund, providing new loans from the funds repaid back by beneficiaries. Up to 2007, more than LE 4,000,000 has been disbursed as loans, through the intermediation of agricultural



cooperatives. Most of the funds of the revolving fund have been used to support the purchase of production inputs and the establishment of small economic activities managed by women.

Results and Benefits Credit lines at moderate interest rate gave the beneficiaries the opportunity to increase their income through the possibility of acquiring agricultural inputs, dairy cattle, orchard establishment, and improving irrigation system. These activities increased directly their income and supported establishment of successful small enterprises.

Component 5

Regarding the project management component, the project staff coordinated and supervised the execution of all activities and administrative procedures to guarantee achieving the impact and sustainability of the project objectives. The project staff received different training courses at different levels (in Egypt and Italy) to enhance their capacity building.

Results and Benefits The project succeeded to form a well qualified staff, which can assure the sustainability of the project activities.

PROJECT IMPACT

To describe the project impact, a description of the socio-economic situation of the beneficiaries and the community before starting the project activities should be illustrated:

The project area was, prior to reclamation and settlement, uninhabited desert. The reclamation process included the provision of an irrigation and drainage system together with the construction of housing, community buildings, and infrastructure.

A group of beneficiaries were settled in the area in 1999, the target group of the project includes small farmers and unemployed youth (secondary school and university graduates). The small farmers are former tenants from the old Delta who have lost their access to rental land due to liberalization of the land tenure law. An undeveloped desert farm was allocated to the settlers. These desert farms need three to four years of development before showing a positive return. On the other hand, the housing in particular was of poor quality and prone to subsidence and structural faults. For these reasons the settler families face formidable difficulties. They are unfamiliar with farming systems appropriate to local conditions, including cropping regimes, livestock management, and suitable irrigation technologies and water management. They need a sustainable programme of appropriate technology transfer to equip them with necessary knowledge, skills and tools. They also needs finance for farm and non-farm enterprise development and production inputs: assured water and electricity supplies, better market access, improved rural services, and food rations until there own production comes on stream.

The project activities started in July 2002 based on a five-year grant agreement signed between the Italian and Egyptian Government, and became fully operational when the IFAD loan became effective in April 2003.The IDS project framework includes five components:

1- Community Organization and Development;

2- Technical Operations;

3- Marketing Operations;

4- Credit Facilitation & Enterprise Development;



5- Project Management Unit.

The project has progress well during its 6 years total period (five years basic period and one year of extension). Several indicators show that it is evident that the project activities has strongly contributed to improved livelihoods of the population in the settlement areas, that through addressing the priority needs of the local communities, target beneficiaries, rural women and various community and farmer organizations. In other words, it is noted that by the end of the sixth implementation year the project activities make a remarkable change on the ground on the basis of a driven demand and help the beneficiaries to reach an adequate socio-economic level.

Moreover, the project was the initiator and promoter of many activities and developed strong partnership with other operators in the area and assist the specialized administrations such as irrigation, health, education, social affairs, water supply, etc. to intensify their services to the project area.

The effect of the project on the farmers and the community show a tremendous process of change over the years: from food-rations farmers to self-reliance, from deplorable living conditions to vastly improved housing, from the absence of anything like community to the emergence of a community life and essential community services, from total dependency on the government to increasing self-reliance; from pervasive poverty to vastly improved living standards, rising incomes and an increasing number of successful small and micro entrepreneurs, many of them women.

In addition, the project has placed a major emphasis on community-based institutions and services, which are of crucial importance to the development of new rural communities based on irrigated agriculture. Their functioning has a great impact on technical operations and they are of vital importance to the social and economic wellbeing of women and men, they also can play important role for the project sustainability.

The official administration bodies and the supervision reports edited by different National and International Organizations declared that the project has achieved its main objectives, it succeeded to improve the socio-economic level of the beneficiaries, and its positive impact has been extended not only to the project beneficiaries but also to the whole project community.

It is highly recommended that the activities of the project could be taken as a guide to other initiatives in new reclaimed areas where same target groups should be settled.



POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND EMPLOYMENT GENERATION PROGRAM

Project code: IDS/02 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Ministry of Social Solidarity

Total Project Budget: LE 37,500,000 (Euro 5,915,000) Project Final Expenditure: LE 32,162,510 (Euro 5,072,950)

Location: Gov. Asyut, Qena and Sohag. Project Duration: 3,5 years

Starting Date: August 3, 2004 Completion Date: February 29, 2008

OBJECTIVE

The Project represents a geographical extension of the successful “Poverty Alleviation Program” implemented in the Governorates of Giza and Minya, by the Italian Cooperation in partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs, throughout the period 1998-2005. Project’s purpose is to improve socio-economic conditions and reduce unemployment in the Governorates of Asyut, Qena and Sohag by supporting poor people, through local CDAs, in taking an active role in the Egyptian economy.

The core of the Project is a micro credit scheme through which people with a monthly family income of less than LE 900, can be granted loans for developing new enterprises or expanding existing ones, as well as the CDAs can benefit of funds to develop social services such as sanitation, potable water, ID cards and birth certificates issuing, ecological ovens, libraries and socio-cultural clubs, etc.

EXPECTED RESULTS

New job opportunities created through the delivery of loans

Monthly income of beneficiaries increased. Standards of living in the target areas raised

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The Project selected 54 CDAs, as main channels to reach the target group in the three Governorates; in each CDA, the Project established and equipped a Credit Unit responsible of collecting applications, selecting loan beneficiaries, disbursing loans, monitoring and collecting the instalments back.

A specific capacity building program targeted MOSS personnel involved in the project at central and regional level, CDAs’ board members and Loan Units’ staff in order to increase their efficiency and working skills on micro-credit scheme management and on the Social Loan

Beneficiaries of micro credit scheme



Tracking System. Moreover CDAs’ staff has been permanently trained to identify and define social and financial community needs.

Micro Credit beneficiaries have been selected according to the following criteria:

Age between 21 and 60 years Egyptian nationality Valid ID Card. Family monthly income less than LE 900 Good reputation. Resident in one of the target areas

According to last data provided, the project had transferred to the 54 CDAs a total amount of LE 22,320,000 while, through the revolving funds, the CDAs had, in turn, disbursed loans for a total amount of LE 43,402,900 with a settlement rate close to 90%.

The PAP financed more than 25,000 micro and small enterprises in four main business categories, namely agriculture, services, commerce and industry. In detail:

In Asyut, 4603 loans financed enterprises in the commercial sector, 1841 in the services’ sector, 1734 in the agriculture and 955 in the industrial sector, for a total number of 9133 projects.

In Sohag, 2972 loans financed enterprises in the commercial sector, 1359 in the services’ sector, 4960 in the agriculture and 169 in the industrial sector; for a total number of 9460 projects.

In Qena, 2118 loans financed enterprises in the commercial sector, 630 in the services’ sector, 4943 in the agriculture and 310 in the industrial sector, for a total number of 1758 projects.

In addition, micro-credit beneficiaries were provided with vocational training, assuring local capacity building and knowledge empowerment, in order to help them to run their activities efficiently.

As for social interventions, the CDAs received a total amount of LE 1,575,000 in order to design and implement the most needed interventions for the villagers with the final aim of enhancing their quality of life. Among the intervention implemented: ID-cards issuing for women, awareness seminars on different issues, sanitation and potable water project, bridge constructing, etc.

PROJECT IMPACT

During its 3,5 year duration the project performed quite well under its three main areas of intervention: loan policies and credit mechanism, capacity building targeting MOSS personnel and CDAs staff, social and community development interventions.

Concerning the first component, the establishment of Credit Units inside (CDAs), the adjustment of their operational mechanisms in order to enhance the outreach capacity of microcredit activities, and the set up of a Social Loan Tracking System (SLTS), designed to effectively manage financial operations and provide indicators of economic, social and human development, enabled

Beneficiary of micro credit scheme



to produce a relevant impact both on direct beneficiaries of the loans and on local communities. In fact, the suitable credit mechanism, tailored on the needs of micro-enterprises, not only has contributed to elevate personal assets but also has helped to stimulate the texture of local economies.

The capacity building programs have permitted to enhance financial awareness in the main departments and regional offices of the project and also to follow up each loan request according to clear rules and procedures. Besides, the training programs have developed the capability of the local staff to assess community needs on regular basis and design appropriate interventions accordingly.

The social and community development activities implemented have contributed to introduce a sound concept of gender equality and increase the active participation of women in community services; the relevant number of ID cards issued (more than 1500) have helped women to get job opportunities and establish their own micro-enterprises. Environmental interventions, such as planting trees in the streets, fixing pure water connections and turning waste lands into green spaces partially have improved the living conditions of local communities.

Therefore, the overall impact of the project can be assessed taking in consideration the three main categories of beneficiaries: public administration and CDAs, micro-enterprises and civil society.

Public administration and CDAs took advantage of the project, since the capacity building process enabled them both to deal with the needs of local communities by utilizing appropriate tools and to design adequate interventions on the most urgent requirements.

The microcredit system matched the small and micro-enterprises’ need of financial services and, more important, of non financial services. The impact of more inclusive financial and non financial services contributed to support individual activities as well as to increase economic growth at community level.

At civil society level, the project raised the health, nutrition and educational standards of the people living in the three selected Governorates by impacting on the local economic system.



ESTABLISHMENT OF DATA BASE IN RURAL AREAS WITH THE

INTRODUCTION OF FAMILY HEALTH APPROACH

Project Code: IDS/03 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Ministry of Health and Population


Location: Gov. Beheira, Qalyubeya Project Duration: 4,5 years

Start Date: April 1, 2003 Completion Date: June 30, 2007

OBJECTIVE

Within the framework of the Egyptian Health Sector Reform, the project aims to eliminate the lack of an integrated health information system, which does not allow, especially in rural areas of Egypt, easy identification of health problems and elaboration and planning of solution strategies. Therefore, its main objective is to improve the social and health conditions of the population in the governorates of Beheira and Qalyubeya, reorganizing the public health system through the implementation of the Family Health Approach, which is based on decentralised decision-making.

EXPECTED RESULTS

The main expected results are:

400 health centres in the target area transformed and reorganized into Family Health Units (FHU);

knowledge and skills of medical and non-medical staff in relation to the Family Health Approach improved.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in June 2007. The target of 400 FHU was even exceeded, since 435 health units in Beheira and Qalyubeya were fully reorganized and upgraded as FHU. The main interventions carried out by the project to achieve this result concerned: establishment of filing rooms and family folders, physical rehabilitation, supply of medical furniture and equipment and of meeting and training facilities. In all these FHU a health demographic database, in partnership with IBM, was established and operated. The database now includes all the information that the project collected during health demographic surveys.

Medical examinations at FHU



The information concern, at the moment, more than 5,900,000 individuals, out of which more than 2,100,000 benefited from a full general medical examination. From the group of 435 FHU, 172 were also included by the project in the so called “accreditation programme”. This programme was launched through the ministerial decree n. 147, which established all the quality standards that health units have to fulfil in order to obtain official accreditation by the MOHP. Thanks to the support of the project, all the 172 FHU succeeded in getting the official accreditation.

Finally, the project achieved the important result of upgrading skills and knowledge of medical and non-medical staff in the target area, in relation to the Family Health Approach. This result was obtained through training sessions for more than 9,500 beneficiaries (physicians, nurses, sanitarians, health inspectors and health educators) on subjects such as Family Health System, Health Reform, quality improvement, data entry and planning.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project produced a very positive impact in terms of improved quality of health services provided in the target areas and it has introduced an innovative performance-based management system.

Furthermore, a higher level of awareness has been achieved in relation to the benefits coming from the use of ICT technologies in the management of health services.

Future planning of health interventions will be enhanced by the availability of information collected during project implementation and the strong commitment of the Egyptian Government to continue in the upgrading process of hospitals and the implementation of the Family Health Approach. To this regard, the project represents a successful model to be replicated in other governorates.

Finally, the project, achieved the important result of upgrading skills and knowledge of medical and non medical staff in the target area, in relation to the Family Health Approach. This result was achieved through training sessions for more than 9,500 beneficiaries (physicians, nurses, sanitarians, health inspectors and health educators) on subjects such as Family Health System, Health Reform, quality improvement, data entry and planning.

MOHP staff operating the new database



SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT OF WADI EL RAYAN AND FAYUM NEW-LAND SETTLEMENTS

Project Code: IDS/05 Applicant: Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALR)

Implementing Agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation / COSPE Total Project Budget: LE 12,613,000 (Euro 1,990,000) Project Final Expenditure: LE 12,512,990 (Euro 1,973,658)

Location: Wadi El Rayan, Qibli el Qarun (Gov. Fayum) Project Duration: 5 years Start Date: July 1, 2003

Completion Date: June 30, 2008

OBJECTIVE

This Project, implemented by the MALR, with the assistance of the Italian NGO COSPE, intends to foster the economic development of the new reclaimed desert lands in Wadi El Rayan and Fayum,. The aim is to improve socio-economic conditions of settlers, in particular the new graduates (under Mubarak Scheme) and the displaced farmers (deprived of the land following the Land Owners and Tenants Farmer Reform undertaken in 1997).

In particular, the Project aim to promote the development of a sustainable agriculture practices, oriented to organic farming and

supported by appropriate irrigation systems, improved livestock production and innovative marketing strategies (fair trade network). At the same time, the Project plans to incorporate the environmental dimension, in consideration of the fact that part of the project is implemented within the Protected Area of Wadi El Rayan (see project IDS/22).

Target groups are 1800 displaced farmers and 800 new graduates organized in 4 cooperatives, distributed over the following areas:

Wadi El Rayan, namely the villages of Sayedna Khedr and Sayedna Mousa, for a total area of 4578 feddans.

Qibli Qarun, namely the villages of Faruq Omar and Yousef El Sadiq, for a total area of 3200 feddans.

Wadi El Rayan Farmer



EXPECTED RESULTS

A credit scheme, with the aim of providing start-up capital for agricultural (800 farmers) and non-agricultural (150) activities established, providing loans.

Quantity and quality and of the agricultural production increased, through a sound and sustainable use of soil and water (drip irrigation system improved on 750 feddans).

Institutional capacity of farmers’ cooperatives strengthened and oriented towards an exported organic agriculture;

At least 800 farms are certified to produce and export organic agricultural products.

Quantity and quality of the livestock production improved through procurement of cattle and improvement of feeding practices, securing the production of manure to support organic farming;

An environmentally sound collection and recycling system of solid waste in at least one settlement in Wadi El Rayan and one in Fayum is in place and operative.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

According to its several components, the Project had achieved the following significant results:

Management facilities were strengthened, through establishment of offices, provision of equipment and vehicles.

A "Needs Assessment Study" was prepared in coordination with CARE Egypt on Socio-economic & Environment, to guide the development of the area.

A "Study on Soil Land Use and Water Quality" was prepared, trough General Authority for Land Improvement, to identify the appropriate farming system and irrigation techniques to be adopted.

The living conditions of the settlers were improved, rehabilitating in particular 1.000 (one thousand) houses in Sayedna Khedr village.

The Credit Scheme has been established, managed through the existing four farmers’ cooperatives, having about 2600 members, opportunely trained on financial management. Loans have been destined to the provision of start-up capital for organic farming, livelihood activities, transition towards a drip irrigation system and income generating activities, especially for women. The Loans of LEG 4,450,000 were disbursed as such: (a) to Cooperatives LEG 850,000; (b) to 1043 individual beneficiaries LEG 3,600,000, subdivided for animal production (798 beneficiaries received LEG 2,675,000) and irrigation improvement (245 beneficiaries received LEG 925,000).

Plant production - The assistance was provided trough training on the best practices of organic agriculture and direct supervision on the field. Pilot farms were established within

Improving irrigation system



the four villages. Through credit facilities (see above) irrigation sets for drip irrigation (100) and pumping stations (145) were procured to improve water use.

Educational and awareness material about organic agriculture and fair trade were spread among the farmers and through specific capacity building, including marketing training and field tours. Training was delivered on procedures and techniques for post-harvesting handling and packaging.

Institutional development - An export-oriented organic agriculture Support Unit was established within the four cooperatives and strengthened in order to provide technical and financial services, and to promote cooperative relations with various stakeholders e.g. ministries, NGOs, Fair Trade associations, etc.

Organic farming - A total of 160 farms were certified by the Egyptian Centre for Organic Agriculture (ECOA) enabling to export organic agricultural products, resulting on access to export markets for high value agricultural products, such as medicinal and aromatic plants, as well as higher-price sales to local markets.

Animal production – The procurement of cattle (1051 Cows, 294 Buffaloes, 1870 Sheep and 76 Donkeys) has been accompanied by awareness and training imparted on animal health, diseases, vaccination, feeding and how to manage the production, collection and use of manure in organic agriculture.

Community development - Training sessions were organized to empower local communities, particularly women (60 women were trained) in assessing their needs and elaborate effective proposals for community development. in income-generating activities such as sewing embroidery, carpet weaving, etc. and gaining access to the credit scheme for starting their own business.

Solid waste management system – Behaviours and practices related to solid waste were initially assessed through focus groups, observations and workshop, finalized to establishing a solid waste unit and a compost unit in both areas.

PROJECT IMPACT

The impact of the project on the reference sector includes the followings:

- Full coherence with the priorities and objectives of the Country on food security and implementation of the Mubarak Scheme for settlements.

- Reduction of financial burden and improvement of health conditions of the settlers through distribution of food rations secured from World Food Program.

- Introduction of organic farming in the area and improving quality of products.

- Introduction of environmental awareness, to rationalize natural resources management, water use, protection of biodiversity and solid waste management.

The results of the project and its impact would have been more impressive if:

- The ONG COSPE had been associated from the very beginning of the project as a "partner". Instead it was contracted when the project was already structured (January 2005) to provide very few limited services.

- The Wadi Rayan Protected Area would have been involved as an active "stake holder" and not in an erratic and superficial manner.



About the sustainability of the activities undertaken, the Revolving Fund established represents a very solid asset to ensure their continuation and expansion. It is however crucial that the Revolving Fund must be in particular oriented to support the weaker developed areas, such as improvement of irrigation, marketing and income generating activities for women.



PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF THE RISK OF CHEMICAL

POISONING AND UNSAFE HANDLING OF CHEMICALS


Total Project Budget: LE 2,583,150 (Euro 407,437) IDS Share: LE 1,983,150 (Euro 312,800)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 1,973,612 (Euro 311,295) Other Contributions: LE 600,000 (Euro 94,637)

Location: Gov. Cairo, Daqahleya, Minya Project Duration: 3 years Start Date: March 1, 2003

Completion Date: April 30, 2006

OBJECTIVE

The project tackles the problem of the lack of appropriate knowledge in managing prevention and care of disease caused by exposure to toxic agents. This is a widespread phenomenon in Egypt due to very poor safety measures, especially in the work place. Therefore, it aims at developing toxicovigilance capabilities and at providing adequate medical treatment to poisoned people through the establishment of three pilot Poison Information Centres (PIC) in the Governorates of Cairo, Minya and Daqahleya. The experience in the pilot centres is expected to contribute to the establishment of a

national network of PIC.

The PIC is conceived as a specialized centre, depending on the Ministry of Health and Population, for providing rapid and effective technical assistance for the management of poisoning cases and of environmental contamination by chemical and toxic agents. The Centre also guarantees the availability of experts and an efficient surveillance system for toxicovigilance; to support the Ministry of Health in disseminating safety guidelines for the prevention and management of chemical poisoning.

EXPECTED RESULTS

PIC established and plan of action drafted;

PIC have fully trained staff ;

availability of specific antidotes in the PIC increased;

staff of the Ministry of Health and private physicians are trained on management of poisoning cases, toxicovigilance and chemical safety.

Operation of the database on chemical poisoning



ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project completed its activities at the expected end date. The establishment of the PIC was successfully supported through physical refurbishment of the premises and provision of necessary equipment, 14 categories of specific antidotes and of special software used for identifying sources of poisoning and collecting relevant data. The PICs have also started their activities on the basis of a plan of action.

In relation to the training programme, the project trained 15 physicians from the PIC and 832 employees from the MOHP (364 physicians, 364 nurses, 104 sanitarians). In addition, in order to strengthen the capacity of toxicovigilance at a wider level and to increase awareness on prevention, the project implemented workshops for private physicians and representatives of the agricultural and educational sector.

PROJECT IMPACT

The impact achieved by the project seems to be very positive. According to some preliminary data concerning the operation of the centre established in the Governorate of Daqahleya, 1,500 cases of chemical poisoning have been successfully treated since 2004 and the centre has received 700 calls from health units requesting technical assistance for specific treatment. The main factors of chemical poisoning registered in Daqahleya concern contact with pesticides in the agricultural sector and inappropriate consumption of pharmaceutical drugs, especially for attempts of suicide.

The project was successful as a pilot intervention since it paved the way, through capacity building and training of trainers, for the enhancement of the network of PIC on the national level. The sustainability is also enhanced by the strong commitment of the MOHP to support the toxicovigilance system.

Antidotes



MARKETING LINK PROGRAMME: LINKING CRAFTS PRODUCERS FROM MARGINAL COMMUNITIES TO

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Project Code: IDS/07 Applicant and Implementing Agency: COSPE

Total Project Budget: LE 1,261,020 (Euro 199,000) Project Final Expenditure: LE 1,239,380 (Euro 195,486)

Location: National Project Duration: 1,5 Years Start Date: April 13, 2003

Completion Date: September 30, 2004

OBJECTIVE

Objective of the project is to contribute to alleviate poverty among vulnerable groups (rural residents, youth, women and unemployed) by supporting the development of income generating activities in the craft and agro-processing sectors.

The project represents a second phase of the initiative, launched in 1998 by COSPE and North South Consultancy Exchange that aimed at helping producers and producer groups to develop their production and management skills based on the Fair Trade principles.

Building on successful growth in production and sales realized with the first phase, the project aimed to grapple with the challenges of quality, skills and volume in the producers’ work.

EXPECTED RESULTS

New producers groups created;

Specific producers groups with technical and management skills integrated into the Egypt Craft Center (ECC) network;

Promotion of crafts and agro-processing activities among targeted groups in different regions implemented;

Promotion, through ECC network, of Egyptian crafts and agro-processed products locally and on the international market.

Palm Tree manufacturing in Sharqeya Governorate



ACHIEVED RESULTS The Project was successfully completed in September 2004, by achieving the following results:

Five new Producers Groups were integrated into the ECC network: the Siwa Association of Community Development and Environment Protection; the Siwa Silversmiths Group; the Central Association of Productive Families of Sharqeya; the Central Association of Productive Families of Beheira; the Groups of producers of Nazla pottery (Fayum).

In addition four new groups were selected: Women of Siwa embroidery; Women of olive soap production in Fayum; Bedouin women from Marsa Alam region; the group of paper production in Fayum.

The project provided the producers groups with equipment, consisting of tools and machinery, for production and management. Training in basic marketing basic principles was given and during several sessions focusing on the modern concepts of marketing and the marketing surveys, a marketing plan was developed. Finally, the project developed a website (www.fairtradeegypt.com) as a promotional and marketing tool for producers and also produced a number of information leaflets and commercial catalogues in order to promote the handicraft products and raise awareness on handicrafts as income generating tools.

PROJECT IMPACT The impact of the Program has been multifold and it concerns the following areas: Private sector: The producers groups, which were integrated in ECC/ETF, have consistently improved their production management as well as their local and international sales. The producers using ETF website, which is their promotional and marketing tool, are able to deal with importers and new costumers at a national level. Human resources Policies: The development of ECC as a sustainable business model that is able to provide a stable income as well as vocational training opportunities to craft and agro-processed food, has contributed to GOE’s policy objectives in this area. Moreover sales increase has positively affected producers’ income and their living conditions. As a consequence many producers have extended their workshop or moved to new houses. Women empowerment: The overwhelming majority of producers are women (up to 75% in the second Phase of the Program and 90% in the previous one). These women have benefited from training activities and have been empowered to actively participate in the economic and social life of their villages.

Egypt Crafts Center Shop in Cairo



Civil Society: In the frame of the program the associations have benefited from capacity building concerning areas as different as working conditions, strategic planning for productive family associations, product quality improvement and diversification. The training activities strengthened the capacities of the associations and enabled them to absorb new skills and know how and to use in order to improve their marketing performance. Bilateral Relations: The marketing training together with the introduction of fair trade principles and capacity building activities, which have been provided under the project, had a positive impact on bilateral Italian-Egyptian trade relations, facilitating the activities implemented by local producers to reach international marketing network.

Nowadays ECC/FTE deals with more than 30 artisans groups and their hundreds of traditionally-made products. ECC/ETF keeps offering important opportunities for economically disadvantaged artisans enabling them to consistently sell their hand-made items and expand their existing markets. In fact, the current performance of EEC/FTE is deeply related with Marketing Link Program activities, efforts and results.



MULTI FACETED WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN MINYA GOVERNORATE

Project Code: IDS/08 Applicant and Implementing Agency: National Council for Women


Location: Gov. Minya Project Duration: 4 years Start Date: June 1, 2003

Completion Date: May 31, 2007

OBJECTIVE

Minya Governorate, according to the UNDP Human Development Report, is among the governorates with the lowest development indicators in Upper Egypt. For this reason, the National Council for Women designed this project with the aim of helping the socio-economic empowerment of women in 4 districts of Minya Governorate.

The project, which adopts a holistic approach based on a comprehensive set of complementary socio-economic empowerment activities, ultimately aims at strengthening the participation of women and acknowledging their legitimate active role in the development of their

households and their communities

EXPECTED RESULTS

The economic situation of 1,200 women in the targeted areas improved through credit facilities and technical assistance in order to help the creation of new job opportunities.

The legal status of women enhanced in order to strengthen their ability to deal with civil society and the government.

Incidence of women illiteracy in the target districts reduced

Public awareness on specific issues raised, such as women political participation, legal awareness, human rights, violence against women, etc.

Beneficiary of the micro credit scheme



ACHIEVED RESULTS The project was successfully completed in May 2007. According to its different components the following results were achieved: Gender-disaggregated database of the target area

A comprehensive field survey in collaboration with the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) was realized in the target villages on a sample of 9,743 households in order to assess the social, economic, political and health status of women. The Survey results which were published as a comprehensive report, contributed to the establishment of a database which was used to create a geographical information system (GIS) map that shows living conditions of the households and the status of women within their households in the selected villages. The database covered demographic and population characteristics, standard of living indicators, human and financial assets, educational status, illiteracy, economic activity, political participation, women in decision making and women overall health.

Micro credit scheme for women

5 NGOs were selected and trained to run a micro credit scheme which went well beyond expectations: at the end of the project 2,759 women had been provided with micro loans at a very low interest rate (5%) with a repayment rate of 100%. Moreover, the provision of loans was associated to the capacity building of women in order to prepare them to run their own business and effectively manage the loan.

Illiteracy eradication program

As for the literacy component, NCW in partnership with the NGO Caritas, selected the trainers and established 10 literacy classes for 230 women. 198 of them attended courses regularly, and 160 passed the final test and achieved the literacy certification from the General Authority for Literacy and Adult Education (GALAE).

Public awareness campaign

5 NGOs were selected and trained in order to implement the social awareness program which targeted 3400 women and men on three main components:

a) social component (literacy, health, violence against women, the role of women in the families, volunteerism),

b) economic component (economic participation, labour market, poverty),

c) political component (political rights, legal and human rights, political participation, ID cards issuing).

Legal assistance

The project, established an active collaboration with local institutions in order to help the issuing of official paperwork and documents for women: official documents were issued for 1984 women.

Beneficiary of the micro credit scheme



Capacity building

The 5 NGO-partners were provided with capacity building in order to guarantee an effective response to community needs and the sustainability of the results achieved by the project. In particular the NGOs were trained in: community needs assessment, management tools, project management, monitoring and evaluation, etc.

PROJECT IMPACT

One of the main objectives of the National Development Plan is the empowerment of women and the narrowing of gender disparities. In particular, the plan focus on enhancing women participation in the development process, charging the National Council for Woman, which represents the national highest authority for gender development issues, with the mission of supporting women’s participation in the development process as well as their political, social and economical empowerment which are considered vital in order to achieve sustainable development.

Therefore, the project adopted a multidisciplinary approach, which produced a significant impact in the life of women in the target area. In particular, through a sample survey of 393 borrowers, the positive impact of the micro-credit program after two years was indicated by the following aspects (while also noting that borrowers benefited from business-skill training as a pre-requisite for loan acquisition):

About 94% reported an improvement in their living conditions, About 57% reported improvements in general health conditions, About 21% and 28% respectively reported decreases in child labor and in school drop-out, Generation of job opportunities was reported by 51%, Borrowers whose families monthly income was LE 100-499 decreased from 74% to 42% of

the sample after acquiring the loans versus, while those in the LE 500-999 income bracket increased from 20% to 39% of the sample,

Borrowers' (i.e. female) participation in the household budget increased to constitute 89% of the sample after obtaining the credit versus 42% before.

As indirect output of the project, we should mention that, thanks to campaigns and lobby activities of the National Council for Women, in the last years, several positive changes took place in the Egyptian Law with regards to women status. In particular, the Egyptian Nationality Law has been amended to provide equality to whoever is born of an Egyptian father or mother so they can obtain Egyptian nationality without any condition or restriction.



COMPLETION OF POTTERY VILLAGE

Project Code: IDS/09 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Ministry of Tourism


Location: El Fustat (Gov. Cairo) Project Duration: 3 years

Start Date: March 20, 2003 Completion Date: June 30, 2006

OBJECTIVE

The El Fustat District, better known as Fatimid Cairo, has been known for centuries for its excellent pottery. Unfortunately, the villagers have been forced to move many times because of the city expansion, which is having a devastating effect on both the pottery production and the life of the villagers.

Therefore, the purpose of the project proposed by the Ministry of Tourism is to preserve the traditional manufacture of Egyptian pottery profession, which has passed down from father to son, and

improve crafters’ economic and work conditions by establishing a Pottery School and a Center for the Revitalization of Traditional Arts and Crafts in the district of El Fustat.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A Pottery Centre with 32 workshops constructed in El Fustat. Improvement in the working conditions of craftsmen of the area

ACHIEVED RESULTS

In spite of delays and bureaucratic constraints, the project was successfully completed. All the construction works were completed by June 2006 and to date the pottery village has 32 new well-equipped workshops. Nevertheless, in spite of the upgrading, not all the workshops are currently operating.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project initiative is among the type of initiative which should be replicated throughout the country to transmit the skills of craftsmen and artisans in general to the future generations and

The El Fustat Pottery Village



maintain the inherit age of this old tradition alive. Thanks to the debt swap, craftsmen can now count on 32 two-floor workshop equipped with water, electricity and natural gas ready to become a show window for traditional pottery production.

The craftsmen organized themselves in two organizations in order to defend their interests and promote the village and its production within the social context.

The impact of the project could have been enhanced if the strategic planning of the structure would have taken into consideration the necessity that the pottery village had to become an integral part of a more general development plan of the Old Cairo area, and not an isolated initiative, which alone, does not have sufficient tourists appeal.

Unfortunately to date, because of bureaucratic constraints and institutional controversies, many of the workshops are still not fully operating giving the impression of a “cathedral in the desert-like” infrastructure, not unlike other infrastructures of the area, such as the Fustat Market. The above created some anxiety among the handicraft shops as the development if not fully utilized as per original program may be devoted by local Authorities for other scopes.

Nevertheless, further developments are soon expected. For instance, a valorisation of the village could be achieved through the establishment in its premises of a school for training in pottery arts, by including the village in the framework of the technological and industrial clusters initiative promoted by GOE.



INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES TO

FOSTER EGYPT’S SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Project Code: IDS/10 Applicant: Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies

Implementing Agency: United Nations Development Programme Total Project Budget: LE 48,434,754

Project Final Expenditure: LE 48,434,753 (Euro 7,639,551) Location: National

Project Duration: 4,5 years Start Date: November 1, 2002


OBJECTIVE

The objective of the project is to enhance the opportunities of human development of the most disadvantaged population of the country, by reducing the “digital gap” that still prevents large groups of Egyptians from benefiting from the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). For this reason, the project aims at making the use of ICT more accessible for all people and at increasing awareness of the benefits that can be obtained through ICT. Basically, the project will seek to achieve its objective by providing access points and elaborating application tools.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A network of Smart Schools established in the country. 4 Mobile ICT Units functioning around the country. 2 web portals, one for community development and one for knowledge generation,

established. A literacy course on CD-ROM developed and used on a national scale.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in June 2007. With the aim to facilitate access to the use of ICT, starting from the educational context, the project established a network of 38 Smart Schools in several governorates. These schools were provided with all the necessary hardware and software to use ICT in the educational process, thus improving quality of education for children. In the Smart Schools, teachers and pupils do not only use ICT during lessons, through the Learning Management System elaborated by the project but they are also adopted to

The Mobile ICT Unit



support administrators in the management, through the School Management System. Thanks to the project, a ratio of 1 computer to every 10 students was reached and more than 400 teachers were trained for the International Computer Driving License, of whom some 130 succeeded in obtaining it. Through the Smart Schools component, the project included more than 18,000 pupils among its beneficiaries. In addition, after school time, the facilities of the Smart Schools are used as Community Learning Centres to allow adult people, especially women, to benefit from the use of ICT. At the end of the project, an average of 600 users per month was registered in the Community Learning Centres, which are operated by making pay a small fee to beneficiaries.

One of the most successful and innovative results achieved by the project to facilitate access to ICT was the creation of four Mobile ICT Units (two caravans and two buses). These units were equipped with computers and connected to the Internet through satellite. They go around the country, remaining for some days in a specific governorate, and they are used to allow access to ICT to the most disadvantaged people of each visited area.

The project not only facilitated the access to the use of ICT, but also worked to increase awareness of the benefits of ICT by showing the real opportunities that can be obtained. In this light, the project established two web portals in Arabic. The first is a community development portal (www.kenanaonline.com), which provides several information in different fields, such as health, agriculture, job opportunities, etc. The portal is now including more than 55,000 web pages and it is visited in average by 140,000 users per month, of which 50% are from Egypt, 40% from other Arab countries and 10% from the rest of the world.

A partnership was also established with the project IDS/36 (Rural Development Communication Network) with the final objective of creating a sub-portal of Kenana Online, specialized in agriculture and managed with the technical support of the Agricultural Research Centre of the MALR.

The second portal is an “e-library” (www.fekrzad.com), which is used as a knowledge generation mechanism. The portal provides beneficiaries with the opportunity of publishing researches, studies and articles on several subjects, which become available to any stakeholder. Several thematic competitions were also implemented among school teachers and pupils, in order to generate articles and stimulate research capacity. More than 1,400 articles are now available on the web portal. Also in relation to the portals, the project managed to get sponsorship from the private sector.

Another important application tool elaborated by the project is a literacy course through CD-ROM. The project developed a training kit which is now used all over the country and which is producing the amazing effect of allowing even illiterate people to use personal computers.

Beneficiaries within the Mobile ICT Unit



PROJECT IMPACT

Since the inception of the project in 2003 and throughout the three phases completed as a pilot phase, there were 38 public and experimental schools served in 16 governorates with 18,348 students trained, and teaching skills of 2,401 teachers were improved using ICT. Moreover, 307 staff members and administrators were trained, preparation of 98 computer labs and equipping them with 2,677 PCs.

The Smart School Network made massive and tangible developments in the communication infrastructure within the school boundaries and in the school's relation with the outside community. ICT facilitated the learning process and trained students, administrators, teachers, and even parents where it served as an ICT channel connecting all stakeholders in the educational process. Moreover, it enhanced the use of ICT in the Ministry of Education.

The Mobile Information Technology Unit (MITU) is one of the best examples for societal inclusion and enabling a communication platform as it aimed at bringing IT to rural and remote communities where people would not otherwise have been exposed to it. The project so far benefited more than 200,000 citizens who have access to the MITU with an average of 18,000 users per month that are registered. It is also worth mentioning that with the objective of increasing synergies among IEDSP projects, a partnership was established with project IDS/20 (Think Twice). In the framework of this partnership, the project will build new mobile IT units to support the Think Twice advocacy campaigns.

All the application tools elaborated by the project are promoted not only through the access points of the project (Smart Schools and Mobile ICT Units) but also through a partnership with a network of 150 NGO spread in 16 governorates, which manage IT clubs.

To this regard, the NGO Resala played an important role for the use of the literacy CD-ROM. In addition, the project established another partnership with the NCCM in order to implement further literacy courses with the CD-ROM of the project. It is worth mentioning that more than 2,000 people, thanks to the literacy course, succeeded in the examination of the General Authority for Literacy and Adult Education (GALAE). Moreover, the project concluded an agreement with GALAE to continue using the CD-ROM for a target of 10,000 beneficiaries every year.

With the aim of achieving a greater sustainability, the project worked during the final stage to increase awareness among stakeholders on the use of ICT for development. To this regard, the project launched a call for proposals to finance small projects implemented by NGOs, on the use of ICT for development. Two proposals were selected and implemented. The Egyptian NGO Omar El Farouk Association implemented one project for Community Development and it is called “Learning for life initiative – Abu Seer”; the objective was to enhance ICT skills and knowledge of youth, so that they can use them to promote the cultural heritage of the area of Abu Seer (Sakkara) and improve their job opportunities. Approximately 100 beneficiaries were reached by this project.

The second project was implemented by the Italian NGO MAIS and it is called “Promotion of ICT in Sohag governorate”; the objective was to promote ICT access for the rural area of Sohag, with particular regard to people with special needs. To this regard, the project supported with ICT facilities 4 local CDA and 2 schools for people with special needs; some 370 beneficiaries were reached by this project.



The project was deeply committed in promoting and sharing its experience also at international level, by presenting its model to several important conferences, such as the UN World Summit on Information Society in 2005 and by organizing awareness workshops for national NGO. An important result of this series of workshops was the launch of the idea to create an Egyptian Federation of NGOs specialized in ICT for development.

Finally, the project, through the schools network extended to most governorates, served to inspire the whole educational system in line with planned governmental reforms. Specifically, it is important to note that the project will eventually expand to other 50 public schools and hopes to become the standard model for preparatory school education (levels 7-9) in Egypt.



SUPPORT TO LOCAL AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES

ESTABLISHED IN NEWLY SETTLED AREAS IN UPPER EGYPT

Project Code: IDS/11 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation


Project Final Expenditure: LE 24,749,859 (Euro 3,903,763) Other Contributions: LE 21,332,040 (Euro 3,364,675) Location: Gov. Fayum, Beni Suef, Asyut, Sohag, Aswan

Project Duration: 5 years Start Date: August 1, 2003

Expected Completion Date: December 31, 2008

OBJECTIVE

The goal of the project is to enhance the role of local agricultural cooperatives as a framework for participatory integrated community development in newly established settlements in selected governorates of Upper Egypt (Fayum, Beni Suef, Asyut, Sohag and Aswan) and to improve the living standards of the target population (a total of 11.878 families).

The project is intended to provide a model of development to be replicated in other rural communities and will seek to achieve its

objective by supporting the services provided by cooperatives to local population.

EXPECTED RESULTS

The main expected results of the project are:

quality of current services provided by cooperatives improved and new non-traditional services introduced;

promote efficient use of land and water;

access to financial services facilitated, especially for women;

access to health, education and environmental services improved;

access to marketing services facilitated;

capacity of cooperatives enhanced.

Medical campaign



ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project identified 13 cooperatives to conduct its activities (2 in Beni Suef, 1 in Asyut, 7 in Aswan, 1 in Sohag and 2 in Fayum).

Local agricultural cooperatives play an important role in the community development of the population living in newly reclaimed lands because they act as supportive agency in agricultural practices which represent the main activity of their members. However, cooperatives have to face several constraints, mainly linked to lack of financial resources and adequate capacity. For this reason, the project is full supporting selected cooperatives to provide services to farmers and their families.

The project enhanced the Cooperatives to provided several services to their beneficiaries such as: technical advice to maximize their crop production, choice of adequate agricultural inputs, supply agricultural machinery, support live stock production, technical assistance to small agro-industrial enterprises, and support their marketing skills

One of the most important results achieved by the project was the launch of a credit line to support economic activities of target beneficiaries, including women. After implementing needs assessment and feasibility studies and assessing real economic opportunities, the project has allocated a fund of LE 3,000,000 to cooperatives. So far, approximately LE 2,500,000 have been disbursed from this fund as loans for beneficiaries of 10 cooperatives (each loan does not exceed a maximum of LE 10,000 and the interest rate applied is 7%), mainly to finance livestock and trade activities. In the final stage of the project, a new fund of LE 1,250,000 has been established to finance modernization of irrigation systems.

In order to facilitate marketing and selling of agricultural products, cooperatives have started to provide marketing services, thanks to the support of the project. To this regard, a small packing unit and two small marketing stations have been built in Aswan and the necessary transportation means, to deliver products to the marketing stations, have been provided.

A new category of services introduced by the project concerns environment and health. To this regard, several medical and veterinary campaigns have been implemented in the target area, in cooperation with the MOHP, in order to improve health status of beneficiaries, nutrition, veterinary services to livestock. In addition, several awareness sessions are constantly implemented to improve environmental and hygiene practices.

PROJECT IMPACT

The aim of this project is perfectly aligned to the last 20 years’ land reclamation program developed by the Egyptian Government. During the early years of settlement, new settlers are vulnerable to several social and economic difficulties: the enhancement of local agricultural

Beneficiaries during awareness seminars



cooperatives provides a successful model to establish a participatory and comprehensive development.

Regarding the agricultural activities of the beneficiaries, the project has extended socio economic utilities and technical support for the amelioration of horticultural production. Moreover, the project succeeded also in introducing, through the cooperatives, social services to their members as education, health, environment and small enterprises support, with a special attention to women empowerment (hand craft, dairy products, etc).

In order to guarantee the sustainability of the project, all services are provided along with the implementation of a capacity building plan of action, directed to managers of cooperatives. This plan of action is carried out through theoretical and practical training sessions, mainly on management and follow-up of the credit line, use of participatory approach, planning, reporting and financial management. Moreover, to ensure experience exchange among the beneficiaries, the project established appropriate mechanism of networking for the cooperatives.

Concerning the credit component, the project management pointed out that all the financed activities were concentrated in the development of animal husbandry. To achieve a diversification in small enterprises sector, vocational trainings and marketing outlet are under implementation (starting April 2008).



PROTECTION OF WORKING CHILDREN IN MANSHIET NASSER

Project Code: IDS/12 Applicant and Implementing Agency: National Council for Childhood and Motherhood


Location: Manshiet Nasser (Gov. Cairo) Project Duration: 3,5 years

Start Date: September 1, 2003 Completion Date: February 28, 2007

OBJECTIVE

Child labour represents one of the most serious problems in Egypt. In fact, although the Egyptian law forbids any child under the age of fourteen to work, employers rarely comply with it and often take advantage of poor socio-economic conditions of the families.

This problem has extremely serious long-term effects on children: in fact it deprives children of their legitimate right to basic education thus limiting their future prospects and perpetuating the circle of poverty.

Moreover, in order to escape the law, children are employed in the informal sector and often in hazardous jobs with very poor working conditions and inadequate safety measures and consequently with serious threats to their health and without any social or health insurance.

In this framework, the purpose of this project, which targets the area of Manshiet Nasser, one of the poorest districts in Cairo, is to facilitate the withdrawal of working children from hazardous occupations or whereas not possible, at least improve conditions and safety measures for them. To this aim, the project has adopted a triangulated approach targeting not only working children, but also their families and their employers in order to remove the constraints that lay at the roots of child labour.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Local capacities for sustainable social services is strengthened; Public support is mobilized and awareness is raised on the rights of the child and in

particular the rights of working children; A package of health, educational and social support services for working children has been

established;

Vocational training on safe work measures



Vulnerability of women and families has been reduced.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project, which ended on June 2007, successfully addressed 4 main dimensions of child labour issue:

Institutional capacity – The project promoted an active participation of civil society and selected, trained and worked in close partnership with 5 CDAs of Manshiet Nasser area, in order to strengthen their institutional capacities and management skills and guarantee the sustainability of the results achieved after the termination of the project.

Reduction of health risks of working children – In order to reduce risks for working children and help them to move from hazardous occupations to safer ones, after having classified the different kinds of child labour through a statistical survey, the Project launched an integrated training program based on three different kinds of training: a. Vocational training for a total number

of 66 working children, 32 in the mechanic and 34 in the textile sector, with the aim of upgrading their status from unskilled to semi-skilled worker and helping them to move to the formal sector with social insurance.

b. Transformational training for 24 children working in hazardous occupations, with the aim of building or “transforming” their skills in order to be able to move from their current hazardous job to more safer occupations.

c. Direct training organized by three private companies within their factories and directly linked to a job position: in this way 50 children were placed in the textile sector, 166 in the textile, and 100 in the food production sector.

Moreover, the project: conducted 44 awareness sessions on safety measures in working environment for 414 workshop owners, 294 owners’ wives and 384 working children.

Provision of care and protection to working children and their families – The Project established a comprehensive package of services for working children and their families. a. Heath care: the project rehabilitated and renovated the Al-Asheera Medical Centre

providing medical care to 21,227 residents and eye-examination and free eyeglasses to 181 beneficiaries.

b. Educational care: the Project in cooperation with Abnaa Barkouk CDA organized an education program through which 285 children, above the age of 12, attended and graduated from literacy classes. School fees were paid for 233 children to enrol them back to school, 400 students attended evening classes, 35 children joined flourishing classes to continue with preparatory school and 20 of them passed the final exam.

c. Legal protection: in coordination with the CDAs of Ezbet Bekhit and Abnaa Barqouq the Project facilitated the issuing of 1887 ID cards and 88 birth certificates

Addressing root causes of child labour – The Project launched a number of services aimed at reducing the impact of the main causes for child labour, such as poverty, lack of information, low education, etc.

Literacy class



a. Micro credit: the project established a micro credit scheme for the families of working

children in order to address those financial constraints which often force children to drop out schools and start working. The scheme, based on step lending method, with a flat interest rate of 18% and a range from LE 500 up to LE 3,000, issued 2070 loans to beneficiaries (1048 males, 1022 females) for a total amount of LE 1,155,000 with a repayment rate of 96%. Moreover the Project established the Motherhood Community Club, through which 160 women were trained on sewing and rewarded with 160 sewing machines.

b. Awareness Campaign: The project launched an awareness campaign in order to sensitize the community about child labour issue and the other problems of the area. 12 focus discussion groups were organized at the beginning of the project to gain deeper understanding of Manshiet Nasser residents’ needs and to strengthen their participation; after that, a number of awareness sessions were attended by 1467 residents on child labour hazards and related issues but also on other themes such as drug abuse, FGM, reproductive health, early marriage, etc. Moreover, posters, booklets and t-shirts were produced and distributed.

c. A Children and Environment Club was established: 710 children participated in 30 sessions of the child and environment club that aims at raising children awareness concerning the negative impacts of child labour, community participation, carpentry, general health and importance of education.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project directly contributed to the fulfilment of the MDG 1 “Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger“. In fact the project, in consideration of the sensitiveness of child labour issue, adopted a flexible strategy aimed to withdraw working children from hazardous occupations or, where not possible for socio-economic reason, then to improve the working conditions and safety measures. Different kinds of child labours were therefore classified through a statistical survey, and tailored-training was accordingly provided as vocational training for skill upgrading for unskilled children, or transformational training to move children from hazardous to safe jobs. Over 300 child labourers obtained direct training by private companies and have been actually placed in jobs.

This was even reinforced by the support provided to working children’s families through a micro-credit programs which helped the establishment of new income-generation activities and therefore indirectly contributed to rein in the child labour phenomenon in the deprived area of Manshiet Nasser.

In fact, Manshiet Nasser is being classified as one of the largest informal human settlements in Egypt, suffering from inadequate sanitation and waste management. Deweika district was selected as the project site, being the largest and most impoverished district of Manshiet Nasser, also having a high percentage of working children.

A socio-economic impact survey for the Working Children project, using a sample of over 750 family beneficiaries, reported that:

- Obtaining micro-loans was followed by increases in family income (100% of the sample).

- The children who got the vocational and/or transformational training moved to better jobs (100%).



- About 47% applied for loans after they issued ID-cards through the project, and 31% applied for school-enrolment for their children.

- The families reported that they noticed a positive change in their children's behaviour after the latter joined the Child and Environment Club (100%).

- All the mothers who learnt how to use sewing machines increased their income.

- Beneficiaries started to avoid work-related hazards (73%), started to use safe equipment (41%), and paid attention to personal cleanliness (27%).

An undeniable indirect impact produced by the project, was thanks to the political weight of the NCCM, which represents the highest authority in Egypt for Childhood and Motherhood issues, and its activity of lobbing on policymakers, the approval of a new Child Law which finally passed on March 2008.



SCHOOL FEEDING IN UPPER EGYPT

Project Code: IDS/13 Applicant: The United Nations World Food Program

Implementing Agency: The United Nations World Food Program /Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation


Project Final Expenditure: LE 41,859,259 (Euro 6,602,407) Other Contributions: LE 16,836,248 (Euro 2,655,559)

Location: Gov. Fayum, Beni Suef, Minya Project Duration: 4 years Start Date: April 1, 2003


OBJECTIVE

The project aims at improving quality of education in three areas of Upper Egypt (Fayum, Beni Suef and Minya) by addressing nutritional deficiency and hunger. In particular, its objective is to improve the nutritional and health status of school children in vulnerable areas between 6 and 12 years old and to enhance their capacity to concentrate and learn at school. This objective will be achieved by supporting the Government National School Feeding Programme and supplying snacks to 300,000 school children on a daily basis, all through the school year, as an incentive to encourage poor families to send their children to school.

EXPECTED RESULTS

The main expected results of the project were:

enrolment rates in the target schools increased and drop-out rates reduced;

short-term hunger minimized for the target student population;

snacks produced in compliance with required food quality standards;

job opportunities created in the field of food processing and distribution for approximately 1,000 persons;

capacity of the Government of Egypt to manage school feeding programmes enhanced.

School children having their snacks



ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in June 2007. Thanks to the support provided by the project, the National School Feeding Programme has become more effective in the target area. Over 300,000 snacks were distributed to pupils, over the course of this project for a period of approximately 50 days each year and, at the end of the project, an increase of school enrolment rates from 12% to 16% was found. Attendance rates are above 90%, so they are higher than the target established by the project during formulation (80%). Through a series of interviews in target schools, a general satisfaction of school children involved in the feeding programme was found and teachers stated that they have noticed higher levels of concentration in pupils, as an effect of the reduced short-term hunger.

Snacks distributed to school children were produced in the Government plants of Beni Suef and Fayum. Thanks to the support of the project, the production centres were well equipped with upgraded machinery and utensils. What is more, a quality control system, managed by qualified food technologists, was established in order to guarantee that food production is operated under rigorous safety standards.

More than 1,000 women were employed in the production centres and they have acquired, thanks to the project, specific skills and knowledge. Their experience is now a valuable opportunity, since they will be able in the future to gain employment in similar establishments or to set up their own income-generation activities.

Finally, another important result, achieved by the project through the technical assistance provided by the WFP to the MALR and the MOE, was the improved capacity of the Government of Egypt to manage the School Feeding Programme in a more efficient and transparent way. To this regard, it is worth mentioning that the WFP implemented in 2006 a study to evaluate the whole National School Feeding Programme. Important conclusions and recommendations were identified at the end of the study in order to improve the future management of Programme among which, in particular, the need to further decentralize management and to focus resources on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged areas of the country.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project developed within the framework of the National School Feeding Programme of the Government of Egypt has strengthened the efficiency and improved the capacities of the MALR and the MOE in the area. The collaboration of the WFP alongside the lines of the commitment of the Egyptian authorities in the field is strong, having the WFP already implemented other school feeding projects before. Thus the project sponsored by the IEDS initiative should not be considered as something isolated, but as part of the National School Feeding Programme as a whole.

Workers at snacks production centres



The policy support to the issue has been fostered insofar. The MOE indeed, has taken action agreeing to implement a more targeted school feeding programme for the school year 2007/2008, getting a parliamentary authorisation for an additional LE 500,000,000. WFP support has been requested by the Government to assist governorates implementing the new school feeding programme.

In conclusion, considerable progress has been made in the sustainability of the National School Feeding Programme itself. The project indeed has helped bring together and promote improved coordination amongst various actors involved, strengthening meanwhile, on the one hand the technical collaboration of the WFP with the Egyptian authorities and the policy awareness to the issue, on the other.



PASSIVE IN-STREAM WETLAND TREATMENT OF DRAIN WATER

Project Code: IDS/14 Applicant: National Water Research Centre

Implementing Agency: Central Laboratory for Environmental Quality Monitoring Total Project Budget: LE 1,875,000 (Euro 295,741)

IDS Share: LE 1,375,000 (Euro 216,877) Project Final Expenditure: LE 1,375,000 (Euro 216,877)

Other Contributions: LE 500,000 (Euro 78,864) Location: Gov. Gharbeya, Daqahleya

Project Duration: 3 years Start Date: April 6, 2003


OBJECTIVE

The project addresses the problem of pollution of drainage water, which prevents its reuse for irrigation. Its main aim is to demonstrate the technical feasibility and the effectiveness of passive wetland treatment systems that could improve the quality of drainage water. The implementation of such systems would contribute to make available additional water resources and to meet the food supply requirements of a rapidly growing population.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Pilot passive wetland treatment systems established;

awareness of local communities on water pollution increased;

guidelines on proper irrigation practices established;

selection of plants species suitable for phytoremediation, capable of removing P, N, Pb, Cd and any other organic substances.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in June 2006. Two pilot sites for the implementation of the treatment systems were selected: the first site is in the village of El Bahwo (governorate of Daqahleya) and the second in the village of El Aysha (governorate of Gharbeya). The treatment systems were established, using relatively low-cost technology and a monitoring system for water quality was also developed.

Awareness workshops with local beneficiaries



In addition, the project worked deeply to raise awareness of local beneficiaries, through several meetings and workshops, on the hazards that may come out from the use of polluted drainage water for irrigation.

Finally, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the results achieved, the project published two manuals for the benefit of local communities: the first on the operation and management of the treatment systems and the second on the guidelines for the most appropriate irrigation practices.

A series of workshops served to enhance awareness on the hazards of using polluted drainage water for irrigation.

Two types of aquatic plants are proposed to help in raising the removal efficiency of contaminants in the drained water through the in-stream wetland.

PROJECT IMPACT

The Passive In-Stream Wetland Treatment of Drain Water project (PSWT) has been designed and implemented in order to meet one of the main governmental priorities: i.e. facing the scarcity of water resources by utilizing and optimizing the available ones to meet the socio-economic needs of the country as well as preserve biodiversity and conserve the environment.

In this frame, the project has effectively addressed the problem of the pollution of drainage water, which cannot be reused for irrigation, by employing in-stream wetland systems, a high potential tool for application in rural areas of Egypt. In these areas the treatment process takes place within the drain, needs much less land, is easily maintained, can absorb shock loads and needs less capital and operational cost.

The passive in-stream wetland systems established in the two pilot sites have performed in a quite satisfactory way. In general, the in-stream wetland has demonstrated to be technically and environmentally feasible even though comprehensive and very accurate monitoring and assessment program, during a period of five years, has been recognized as a pre-requisite to enable the adoption of the results on large scale.

Based on the lessons learned form the project experience, the NWRC is currently implementing a replication of the PSWT project in Alexandria with the funding of a private sector firm, Abu Qeer Fertilizers Company.

At community level, the training provided to villagers on the importance of using a waste water treatment technology in order to: i) improve the population health and prevent diseases due to drain water reuse; ii) increase family income due to benefits on proper agriculture/irrigation practices accrued ; iii) reduce pollution and iv) improve drain quality, has been particularly effective. The villagers acquired the necessary awareness and some of them were temporarily hired by the project. After completion, the project was handed to the local people to manage it, thus enhancing a sense of ownership.

Awareness workshops with local beneficiaries



ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF DRINKING WATER

USING HAND-PUMP SYSTEMS


Implementing Agency: Central Laboratory for Environmental Quality Monitoring Total Project Budget: LE 1,975,000 (Euro 311,514)


Other Contributions: LE 550,000 (Euro 86,751) Location: Gov. Gharbeya, Qalyubeya



OBJECTIVE

In several rural areas of Egypt, the main source of drinking water is represented by shallow ground water distributed using hand-pump wells.

This water source is often polluted due to poor protection measures, the lack of appropriate sewage systems, septic tanks and chemicals from agricultural and industrial activities. It is calculated that approximately 20% of the Egyptian population does not have access to safe drinking water.

Hence, the project aims at developing means of protection for shallow ground water from the various sources of pollution and at providing better drinking water to the population in the rural areas. The project is implemented as a pilot intervention in the governorates of Gharbeya and Qalyubeya.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Two new systems of hand-pump wells established. Public awareness concerning the relation between water and human health increased.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully completed in June 2006. After preliminary investigations and analysis of the main sources of pollution for water, the villages of Arab El Aiaida, in Qalyubeya and of Meshreif, in Gharbeya, were selected as demonstration sites for the implementation of the project.

Construction works



A ground water quality assessment and a geophysical survey were carried out in the two demonstration sites. A rehabilitation plan was designed for the new hand-pump systems. Civil works were completed and the two new wells are now operating.

The project deeply worked to increase the level of awareness of beneficiaries in relation to the linkage between water quality and health, the necessary measures to prevent pollution, as well as the operation and maintenance of the new wells. An important effect of the awareness level achieved was the creation of a joint action group that local communities formed together with local authorities in order to monitor and take necessary actions on health problems that may arise from drinking polluted water.

PROJECT IMPACT

Although implementing interventions in pilot areas, the project has effectively addressed one of the main critical issues hampering local development, i.e. access to safe drinking water in rural areas.

In respect of the life conditions of rural communities, lacking access to water supply or taking fresh water from shallow hand pump wells that may be polluted due to poor protection means, the project proposed a practical and sustainable solution from a technical point of view: a preliminary ground water quality assessment, a geophysical survey and, in consequence, the construction and maintenance of hand-pump systems on the selected sites. In this way, it has gathered local experts, belonging to the Central Laboratory for Environmental Quality Monitoring (CLEQM) and other institutes of National Water Research Center (NWRC), around the project execution and has enhanced technical skills in the specific sector.

At community level, successful awareness campaigns have been implemented, thanks to the involvement and cooperation of the local authorities, representatives of inhabitants and community groups. The Director of the village health care clinic has been approached to join the established project action group meetings to discuss the village health problems related to polluted drinking water, reporting on the cases of diseases caused by micro organisms and diseases caused by chemicals. A household questionnaire has been designed to assess the extent of the problem and related control parameters: 55 village household were interviewed to collect the questionnaire based information and design interventions accordingly.

In conclusion, the impact of this project was so visible that people from other areas requested similar initiatives. The President of NWRC, who is also a member of the Inner Wheels Club (IWC), proposed to the latter to implement hand-pumps systems interventions using IWC-sources from donations, while awarding the job to the same contractor to build on the experience gained from the IEDS project.

The initiative has so far been replicated in eight areas: six villages in Qalyubeya and two in Giza, through local NGOs. The contractor offered price reduction in view of future replications.

.

New wells established



DIRECTORY OF SERVICES FOR PERSONS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN GREATER CAIRO AREA

Project Code: IDS/16 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Seti-Caritas

Total Project Budget: LE 275,440 (Euro 44,000) Project Final Expenditure: LE 275,440 (Euro 44,000)

Location: Gov. Cairo, Giza, Qalyubeya Project Duration: 2 Years Start Date: May 11, 2003

Completion Date: March 31, 2005

OBJECTIVE

The general objective of the project is to protect and safeguard the right to equality and equal opportunities for disabled people.

In particular, the project intends to help facing the problem of lack of information about the rehabilitation services for persons with special needs by preparing a comprehensive directory for Greater Cairo. This should help to enhance their access and integration into society through social, vocational and medical rehabilitation.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A Directory of services for persons with special needs available in Greater Cairo area published and distributed.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

After collecting all the previously published information about services for persons with special needs, the Project, through specific questionnaires, collected and updated the information on all available services in the Greater Cairo region building a specific database. Therefore last stage of the project was focused on the compilation, publication and distribution of the Directory which was publicly launched on March 31, 2005 with a ceremony hosted by the Italian Cultural Institute in Cairo.

PROJECT IMPACT

The rights of persons with disabilities come under the sphere of fundamental human and civil rights. In line with this assumption, Italian Cooperation recognizes that all disabled people have

The Directory



the right to receive assistance and to develop their individual capacities, in order to pursue through full integration in their own socio-cultural context, their battle against social exclusion and economic marginalization.

Considering that the lack of information represents a major obstacle to the rehabilitation and integration of disabled people, the database compiled by the project represents, in this sense, a fundamental turning point. It quickly became a helpful and reliable reference tool to direct families, coming to Cairo from all governorates, to the most appropriate services for persons with special needs and, therefore, it finally improves living conditions of disabled people and their relatives.



FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION (FGM) - FREE VILLAGE MODEL

Project Code: IDS/17 Applicant: National Council for Childhood and Motherhood

Implementing Agency: United Nations Development Program Total Project Budget: LE 14,680,754 (Euro 2,315,576)


Other Contributions: LE 12,755,754 (Euro 2,011,949) Location: National

Project Duration: 3,5 years Start Date: April 6, 2003

Completion Date: December 31, 2006

OBJECTIVE

Objective of the Project is to promote a mass abandonment of the female genital mutilations (FGM) practice, through reversing the social, cultural, religious pressures that force women to still perpetrate this practice. The Project adopts an innovative approach by targeting communities as a whole, instead of individual families or specific target groups, in order to create an environment conducive to a dialogue where influential groups (community leaders, teachers, mothers, midwifes, youth and men) can support families to eventually abandon the practice. Accordingly, the project uses a human rights based approach that accommodates FGM within a comprehensive developmental package addressing the rights of the girl child from a socio-cultural perspective

and incorporating the right to education and the prevention of early marriage.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Government committed at all levels to introduce appropriate social measures and legislation against FGM practice.

Awareness and public dialogue on FGM promoted through the involvement of media, opinion leaders, including traditional leaders, political figures, religious chiefs and intellectuals;

Communities of the target villages sign Public Declarations of their collective commitment to abandon the practice of FGM;

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The Project, which successfully ended in December 2006, was structured in four main components:

FGM workshop in Aswan



Institutional capacity – The Project selected 12 focal NGOs in Upper Egypt and 8 in Lower Egypt, responsible of organizing awareness initiatives and providing concrete services to the 120 villages selected. In the same time a mechanism to coordinate a National Movement against FGM was established under the umbrella of NCCM, bringing together different donors, UN agencies including UNICEF, UNFPA and other national partners like doctors and judges.

Advocacy Network - The project built an advocacy network with the different concerned groups by raising their awareness on FGM and training them on how to lobby within their communities.

Youth: UNV volunteers were selected at Governorate level, especially among university students, to create a network of well trained, dedicated and persuasive agents of change in the villages, schools, youth centres and universities, by raising awareness on FGM and promoting volunteerism.

Legal community: following the Afro-Arab Conference on Legal Tools and FGM held in 2003, a taskforce was established within NCCM for identifying policy gaps and assess the Egyptian legislation through the analysis of the judicial experience during the past years. Training workshops and seminars were organized with judges and district attorneys with the aim of standardizing legal sentences on FGM and lobbying for a clear law.

Medical community: training workshops were organized and a Civic Movement of Doctors Against FGM was established to create a pressure group of leading university professors and young doctors to announce their stance against FGM thus making the general public aware that FGM is a clear violation of the code of medical ethics and an act of malpractice.

Media personnel: training workshops were organized to empower media personnel to raise direct and effective dialog on the detriments of FGM

Community Initiatives – At the beginning of the project villages profile was drafted to assess communities’ needs in each target village. According to this assessment and to the proposals submitted and approved, 20 NGOs launched community initiatives encompassing cultural and sport initiatives, literacy classes, computer classes, ID cards issuing, seminars on children rights, in 120 target villages.

In 2005, after two years of extensive communications, education and training initiatives targeting families, community leaders, health workers and religious leaders, two communities, Benban village of Aswan and Abu Qorqas El Balad village of Minya, were able to overcome peer pressure and convince families not to circumcise their girls. Thus, the community leaders of these villages were the first to sign a Public Declaration calling for an end of FGM practice.

Social Communication campaign – The Project managed to break the silence on an issue previously considered to be a taboo, by developing an integrated communication campaign with unified messages disseminated through media channels for all the relevant stakeholders.

In order to increase the advocacy the project produced a toolkit (booklets, posters, training manual, calendars, etc.) for supporting the awareness campaigns against the FGM practices. The project produced also several TV programs on the National TV incorporating FGM as a

Signature of Benban anti-FGM Declaration



key issue of child’s rights, as well as a radio programme named “The girl is Egyptian” which is aired three times a week on the Public Radio Network.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project represented a turn-key, both for the knowledge and the action against a phenomenon which is widely practiced in Egypt. According to the 2005 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS), 96 % of ever-married women age (15-49) are circumcised.

The most tangible impact of the FGM project is that it managed to break the long prevailing silence on an issue previously considered a taboo, thanks to an integrated social communication campaign with unified messages disseminated through TV and radio programs, as well as a toolkit of booklets, posters, training material, etc.

The support and counselling services provided by NCCM through the child helpline 16000, is allowing families from all over the country to call and ensure that they don't want to practice FGM and they will say “NO… to FGM”. Moreover, the free number Child Helpline also answers the queries and concerns of parents and enables concerned citizens to report any illegal operations.

This was publicly announced and celebrated in the village-Free FGM model, representing a tremendous change of attitude. This resulted from the project's comprehensive approach that simultaneously addressed the medical, religious, social and human rights dimensions.

The momentum of action toward complete elimination of FGM in Egypt recently further accelerated, reaching unprecedented proportions, after the death of a girl in Minya.

The fierce action and response in all Egyptian media channels and press did not come coincidently: instead it came as a result of the hard work that NCCM has orchestrated since 2003. As UNDP acknowledges, the project managed to establish a concrete base both at the policy making and grass root level. It adopted a socio – cultural and rights based approach, which was responsive and sensitive to the inquiries and needs of the public in order to ensure that the social change was made, and that families with girls at risk were empowered socially thus abandoning FGM.

Minister of Health and Population (MOHP) recently finally issued a ministerial decree that fully criminalizes FGM and finally closes the legal loophole to undertake this practice - preventing anyone, including health professionals, from performing FGM whether in government or non-government hospitals. The above Decree can be considered one of the outcomes of NCCM mobilization and advocacy. NCCM has only pushed the momentum further with the death of the girl, yet action was already big on the ground. The project succeeded in increasing the exposure to information on FGM, particularly the religious and medical arguments against it, breaking the silence surrounding this taboo, increasing openness to discuss the issue and providing a venue for silenced voices against FGM to openly oppose it.

Furthermore, it ensured that the media dialogue and programs would support effectively the creation of an environment conducive to change. This conducive environment created is what really pushed the fierce media attack in the media when girl in Minya passed away.

In parallel, Al-Azhar Supreme Council of Islamic Research – the highest religious authority in Egypt - issued a statement explaining that FGM has no basis in core Islamic Sharia or any of its partial provisions and that it is indeed a harmful practice that should be avoided.



The project in fact worked closely on the religious discourse with all key religious figures whether the official leaders like the Mufti (who issued official statement against FGM) or with renowned Islamic scholars like Youssef El Karadawi and Mohamed Selim El Awaa thus instigating the issue on specialized sites like "Islam on Line".

As Antonio Vigilante, former UNDP Egypt Resident Representative said, today we witness a clearly growing trend of rejection especially among youth, which makes us hope that FGM can be eliminated in Egypt within the next decade.

Even if still dramatically high, latest surveys shows that FGM prevalence rate is decreasing amongst adolescents, showing the impact of the interventions and efforts in the field: 51% prevalence among girls aged 11-12, 69% for girls aged 13-14 and 77% for girls aged 15-17. The Egyptian Ministry of Health calculated a similar indication of change and Population, showing that only 50 % of schoolgirls age (10-18) are circumcised.



THE NATIONAL PROJECT FOR DRUG ABUSE DEMAND

REDUCTION AMONG YOUTH


Implementing Partner: United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime Prevention Total Project Budget: LE 8,005,000 (Euro 1,263,000)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 7,987,973 (Euro 1,259,933) Location: National

Project Duration: 3,5 years Start Date: January 1, 2004


OBJECTIVE

This Project represents a major milestone for the National Campaign for Protecting Youth launched by the first lady of Egypt, Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, with the aim of contributing to reduction of drug abuse in Egypt.

The project, implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Crime and Drug Prevention, intends to address the drug problems at the community level through a pioneering philosophy based on the active participation of youth and the creation of positive pressure groups within schools and youth clubs with the aim of increasing awareness about drugs’ hazards among their colleagues.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A National Strategy for Protecting Young from Drugs defined;

Awareness program in 100 preparatory and secondary schools and in 30 youth centres and clubs implemented;

NGOs working in the field of protection from drugs throughout the country empowered and coordinated;

A national media campaign to reflect the problem from its different dimensions implemented;

A training centre for operators in the field of drug prevention in Egypt established;

A comprehensive working package for operators in the field of drug prevention created.

Beneficiaries in one of the Youth Centres



ACHIEVED RESULTS The Project had three main components:

1. Awareness on drug abuse among youth, parents and supervisors

The Project implemented an awareness program in 200 preparatory and secondary schools, 100 youth centres and 19 youth camps: a strong and qualified nucleus of 12,000 students was trained to act as youth leaders within schools and youth centres to spread awareness among other youth and train them on new methods of prevention and facing negative peer pressure. 100 youth centres were provided with all the needed equipment and training materials to encourage youth to spend more quality time rather than focusing on socializing and being subject to negative peer pressures.

In the same time, the Project compiled a comprehensive set of manuals targeting trainers, parents, media personnel and youth and launched a capacity building program to ensure that the method of training and approach is unified. Therefore, social supervisors in schools and youth centres were selected and trained to apply the manuals and 400 families were trained on parenting methods of early detection and ways of dealing with an addict.

In particular, due to the positive feedback and the excellent results of the schools initiative, the Project signed a Protocol with the Ministry of Education to merge the youth manual within the school formal activities nationwide: a pilot phase launched in 100 schools proved its success.

2. Community mobilization

The Project launched a community mobilization campaign through the empowerment of the NGOs working in the field of drug prevention: 24 NGOs were selected and trained in 14 Governorates and, through them, 49 community mobilization initiatives were implemented.

Moreover, for the first time in Egypt, the Project established a National Union for all the NGOs working in the field of drug prevention, providing them an umbrella to guarantee a unified method for effectively

facing the problem. The Union is now executing the following tasks:

- coordinate between all the efforts exerted by the members of the Union;

- create a database containing all civil society organizations that work in the field of drug prevention;

- evaluate the services which are offered by the relevant NGOs and organizations;

- study and solve the funding problems which face the concerned NGOs.

Within the Union’s headquarter a training centre was established, equipped with all the needed materials and tools to offer training to NGOs’ calibres and all those who are interested in participating in drug prevention programs.

Awareness Event



3. National campaign

A National Strategy for Protecting Youth from Drugs was compiled with the participation of all relevant Ministries and Institutions and was officially launched in June 2005 by the first lady Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, during the High Level Arab Conference for Protecting Youth from Drugs organized by the Project. The strategy was published and distributed among all project’s partners so to facilitate the procedures of identifying the roles and the duties of each party which will act as members of one entity i.e. NCCM Drug Unit

A number of leaflets and brochures were published, two awareness posters were attached to public buses, a documentary film was produced covering project philosophy and achieved results and a booklet was published documenting activities, success stories, challenges and downfall. Two TV spots were produced and aired on local stations and subway screens and radio spots on misconception of drugs were produced and aired.

PROJECT IMPACT

Even if epidemiological data on drug abuse in the Arab countries are still very scarce because of political and religious considerations, in Egypt, in the last years, drug addiction started to be considered as one of the serious concerns, alarming both the people and Government since it mainly affects young people within their productive years. In fact, recent revealed that 12.21 per cent of school students report using drugs. In this situation a clear and unified strategy of intervention was a major need, in order to coordinate efforts to rein in the phenomenon

The project, thanks to the political weight and the credibility of NCCM, the national highest authority in charge of childhood issues, managed to attain the participation of all relevant Ministries and institutions in Egypt, in compiling a “National Strategy for Protecting Youth from Drugs”. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak officially launched this new strategy during the “Arab Conference for Protecting Youth from Drugs”, organized by the project.

Moreover, for the first time in Egypt, the project managed to establish a National Union of NGOs working in drug-prevention. The Union coordinates between efforts of the member-NGOs to ensure a unified manner of effectively facing the problem, has in its headquarters an equipped centre to offer training to NGOs working in that field, works on creating a database of civil society organizations in that field, evaluates their services, and studies/ solves their funding problems.

The impact of the project was evident also with regards to the schools' initiative which led the project to sign a Protocol with the Ministry of Education to merge a youth-manual within school formal activities nationwide. Moreover thanks to the advocacy and awareness activities, youth became actors of change spreading around information about the harms involved in the use of any kind of drugs, cigarettes and shisha (water pipe) included and breaking the silence which used to surround the drug abuse phenomenon in Egypt.



SCHOOLS CONSTRUCTION

Project Code: IDS/19 Applicant and Implementing Agency: General Authority for Educational Buildings


Location: Gov. Sharqeya, Minya, Sohag Project Duration: 4,5 years Start Date: January 6, 2004


OBJECTIVE

The project is linked to the National Program for Educational Development and to the literacy policy recently launched by the Egyptian Government.

Its main aim is to provide a suitable educational environment to school children in the governorates of Minya, Sharqeya and Sohag, which are particularly deprived areas where obsolete buildings need to be replaced to cope with the growing population of school age children.

The project will build, maintain and equip 23 schools: 8 in Minya, 8 in Sharqeya and 7

in Sohag. The works will consist of complete refurbishment, new constructions, partial refurbishment and extensions. They will include the establishment of all relevant infrastructures (water, electricity and sanitary networks, as well as the construction of paved roads to guarantee access to the schools for children). In addition, schools will be provided with the necessary educational equipment, furniture and recreational areas. The project will contribute to reduce density per class and multi-shifts.

EXPECTED RESULTS

23 schools, 8 in Minya, 8 in Sharqeya and 7 in Sohag, built, furnished, equipped and provided with relevant services.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in June 2008.

All the 8 schools in Minya have been completed and are now operational (6 of them are new constructions, while 2 schools were completely renovated). Infrastructural works (water and electricity networks and access roads) were implemented for 4 schools.

Children in new schools established



Also in Sohag the 7 schools were completed and are operational (1 school was completely renovated and all the others are new constructions). Access roads were established for 1 school.

The 8 schools were completed in Sharqeya and are operational (all of them are completely renovated schools). Water and electricity networks were established for all the schools; works for access roads were also implemented.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project produced a very positive impact over its beneficiaries, achieving fully its main objective.

Indeed, in all the three governorates density of pupils per class has reached the average target of 40 pupils per class (in Sohag the result is even 30 per class). Multi-shifts have also been reduced. More specifically, in Minya, out of 8 schools only 2 schools implement 2 shifts per day; the same result has been achieved in Sharqeya, while in Sohag only 1 school out of 7 implements 2 shifts per day.

Therefore, the project has provided an important contribution to the National Program for Educational Development and it will guarantee to beneficiaries a more suitable and healthier educational environment, as well as literacy and continuity of primary education.

Children in new schools established



THINK TWICE: SOCIAL MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS

FOR EMPOWERING YOUNG PEOPLE IN EGYPT

Project Code: IDS/20 Applicant: National Council for Childhood and Motherhood


Project Expenditure at June 2007: LE 10,879,323 (Euro 1,715,982) Location: National

Project Duration: 3,5 years Start Date: 1st July 2004


OBJECTIVE

The Think Twice Project aims at raising awareness and creating a conducive environment for changing attitudes, perceptions and behaviours regarding the rights of children and youth, by encouraging positive and empowering attitudes towards young people through social marketing techniques, integrated media campaigns and art for development.

Communication for development is, in fact, a strategic mechanism of advocacy for all the issues related to children and youth: integrated

media campaign are very effective in reaching out to the general public, especially if accompanied by strong advocacy work at community level.

The project deals with different issues related with child protection and youth participation specifically with Child Labour, Street Children, HIV/AIDS, Drug Abuse, FGM, Girl Education, Children with Disabilities, Early Marriages, Communication within the family, etc. In this sense, the Think Twice project can be considered as an umbrella providing effective and unified media messages for all NCCM projects funded by IEDS.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Public awareness raised on specific issues related with the rights of the children and youth using mass media tools;

Capacity of the civil society raised in advocating rights of the child using media tools and art and youth active participation and volunteerism promoted;

Capacity of NCCM and other relevant institutions strengthened in managing and carrying out social communication campaigns.

Child Labour Campaign



ACHIEVED RESULTS The Think Twice Project had 3 main components:

National Campaign - An integrated media campaign was launched to advocate on the national level a number of social issues related to the rights of youth with several communication tools. In detail, the Project produced campaigns on five main issues, namely schools drop-out, communication within family, street children, girls’ political participation and disabled children. The campaign was made by the use of TV spots which were aired in subway and cinema screens, radio programs (1 radio program, 1 drama, 40 capsules, 10 spots), printed materials (tabloids, brochures, posters, etc.), outdoor (6 billboards in strategic spots, 18 in train stations, 100 bus signages, etc.). Moreover, the Project reached an agreement to establish a partnership with the project IDS/10 (ICT to Foster Egypt’s Sustainable Human Development) in order to devote two ICT mobile units to spread Think Twice themes also in the remote areas of the country.

Community Initiatives - The Project contracted 10 NGOs in 7 Governorates. A

Communication Centre was established within each NGO in order to offer a point of gathering and work for youth to use arts and creative methods to advocate for human rights in their community. For each NGO, 10 youth were selected (UN volunteers) to act as leaders in the implementation of community initiatives. They were trained on human rights, communication within family and the other thematic issues covered by the Project and in the same time they received special training on how to use artistic tools as photography, puppet theatre, animation, patchworks, and media messages to deliver development messages. Moreover, in two Governorates the volunteers took part to the prestigious initiative “Sailing the Nile” linked to the MDGs Campaign.

NCCM Capacity Building - A Social Communication Unit was established within NCCM to

support communication and complement the work of the Media Unit. NCCM mandate was strongly supported through TV interventions, website, printed materials, events, awards while their staffs was trained in the areas of communication, public relations, events organization, etc. In the same time the Project established a partnership with the Ministry of Information and the ERTU (Egyptian Radio Television Union) by launching an innovative capacity building program for 100 media professionals working on children programs in order to include development messages in programs like cartoons, soap operas, etc.

PROJECT IMPACT

The Think Twice project introduced for the first time in Egypt the concept of communication and social marketing to promote, respect and protect the rights of youth and children, to increase civic engagement and enrich policy dialogue.

Making of a TV spot on girls education



With this innovative approach, media was used to relay clear and meaningful development messages through integrated national campaigns intended to eliminate prejudices, enrich policy dialogue and influence behavioural changes on a wide range of sensitive issues related to youth rights.

Each campaign was supported by a situation analysis to show the magnitude of the problem. Hence, the problem was visualized in all its aspects through focus group discussions, in order to extract the media message. The tools used by the project served to educate adults on the right of the child and to promote the positive attitudes towards young people, with the aim of influencing a change in adult behaviour.

Moreover, at the local level through building the capacity of youths in the age bracket 14-25 on how to develop media messages, the project managed to create an improved environment for children and young people, strengthening their ability to make choices and take opportunities. The volunteer youths were enabled to express their views on specific themes (e.g. girls’ empowerment and human rights) through visual tangible tools (photography, wall drawings and puppet theatre) rather than traditional ways of raising awareness through lectures and seminars. These tools are meant to provide a wide umbrella for dialog, coping with global development agenda, to assimilate the variations in volunteers’ backgrounds, while also ensuring the youths’ involvement with their local communities while taking photos. The participatory approach was thus achieved, and the trained youths became tools of advocacy in their own communities. This was indicated by their wall drawings and photos which were exposed during the a public ceremony held at the Italian Cultural Centre in Cairo at December 2007

The Think Twice project had a positive impact in terms of building capacities within NCCM to use media and communication tools in implementing advocacy program. Through establishing and equipping a permanent Social Communication Unit within NCCM, and training its staff in areas of communication, public relations and event organization, the project reinforced NCCM's communication capabilities and strategies of intervention, in general contributing to the sustainability of the results achieved.

Another evident impact produced by the Project was the creation of a solid partnership with the Ministry of Information and the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU). An innovative capacity-building program for 100 media professionals working on children programs helped TV-producers, by compiling ad-hoc manual, to present higher quality children programs (e.g. cartoon programs), and to include development messages in such programs.



EXPANSION OF THE BEHEIRA SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAMME



Location: National Project Duration: 3,5 years

Start Date: December 1, 2003 Completion Date: June 30, 2007

OBJECTIVE

The project is based on the successful experience of a pilot school health programme promoted by the Italian Cooperation in 1998 in the Governorate of Beheira. Its main aim is to extend to other governorates of the Nile Delta the school health programme implemented in Beheira to fight infections caused by intestinal helminths in children aged from 6 to 12 years old (both enrolled and not enrolled in schools). Thanks to a more efficient reallocation of financial resources, the project extended the target area, including all governorates of the Delta and two governorates of Upper Egypt (Beni Suef and Fayum).

EXPECTED RESULTS

Infections from schistosoma mansoni, ascaris lumbricoides and trichuris trichiura among school age children eliminated.

Prevalence of human fascioliasis reduced to under 3% and new strategies for the control of this illness defined.

Monitoring capacity of the MOHP in relation to the most common school age diseases strengthened.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in June 2007. For its implementation, it developed fruitful partnerships with the World Health Organization, for technical assistance and purchase of medicines, and with the University of Valencia for operational research.

In relation to the elimination of infections caused by intestinal helminths, purchasing and distribution procedures for medicines were implemented in order to cover an area inhabited by more than 30,000,000 people. Beneficiaries received medical treatment. In addition, promotion materials were distributed during training workshops for health staff, teachers, community and religious leaders in order to improve health education and hygiene practices.

School children receiving medical treatment



PROJECT IMPACT

The positive impact of the project is demonstrated by data collected, which revealed the following findings:

reduction of the prevalence of schistosoma mansoni from 1,8% to 1,3%;

reduction of the prevalence of ascaris lumbricoides and trichuris trichiura from 5% to 2%, approximately;

reduction of the prevalence of human fascioliasis from 5% to 1% approximately.

It is noteworthy that the project was able to cover additional beneficiaries represented by children non enrolled or not attending school.

An important achievement in strengthening the monitoring capacity of the MOHP was the completion of the baseline survey for parasitological monitoring in the target areas of the project and the development of a reliable surveillance and monitoring system. This system will allow the MOHP to analyze and interpret data, in order to elaborate control strategies and conduct specific field actions in the future.

Impact of the project was also enhanced by the re-allocation in a more efficient way of the financial resources available. This contributed to expand the activities to 12 governorates instead of the initial 5 planned, covering thus an area inhabited by 30,000,000 people, which is more than half of the total Egyptian population.

Strengthening the monitoring system, the project played a pro-active role in the path to the eradication of the problem. Indeed, full awareness has been achieved on the need to follow an approach based on a wider integration of the present strategy with other interventions: i.e. to improve environmental conditions and water supply systems, together with infections control and behavioral education.

School children receiving medical treatment



EGYPTIAN-ITALIAN ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION PROGRAM

PHASE II (EIECP)

Project Code: IDS/22 Applicant: Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency

Implementing Agency: United Nations Development Programme Total Project Budget: LE 62,306,065 (Euro 9,827,455)

IDS Share: LE 19,900,060 (Euro 3,138,811) Project Expenditure at June 2008: LE 15,270,529 (Euro 2,408,601)

Other Contributions: LE 42,406,005 (Euro 6,688,644) Location: National

Project Duration: 3,5 years Start Date: October 16, 2004


OBJECTIVE

The EIECP Project is an expansion of the first phase of the initiative established between Italy and Egypt in the environmental field between 1998 and 2003. Its main aim is to contribute to the protection of Egyptian natural and cultural resources, by providing institutional support to the EEAA and its partner institutions through eight components/projects encompassed in a Program, to enhance the capacity of managing and protecting the environmental resources.

The Project is co-financed by the IDS and the Italian Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGDC); therefore, the achievements have to be considered originated from both sources of funds in an indivisible manner and they are hereunder reported as such, though the DGDC funds was mostly devoted to the provision of the international technical assistance services. The allocation of funds and the expenditures have been separated in the planning and reporting documents of the project.

EXPECTED RESULTS

1. Decision Support System Based on Environmental Balance (DSS) A computer-based tool developed in order to reinforce the Decision Makers’ capacity of analysis and evaluation in relation to the water resources planning process.

2. Gabal Elba Protected Area (GEPA) Protected Area (PA) managed in a sustainable manner with the participation of local stakeholders, while contributing to the economic development of the region.

3. Institution and Capacity Building for Nature Conservation Sector (NCSCB)

Low impacy infrastructure - Wadi El Hitan



NCS in the EEAA empowered in order to assure proper management of the national network of protected areas.

4. Legal and Institutional Framework Project(LIFP) EEAA institutional and legal framework strengthened by updating legislation and regulatory framework for solid waste, protected areas and marine environment.

5. Wadi El Rayan Protected Area (WRPA) Protected Area (PA) managed in a sustainable manner with the participation of local stakeholders and support to the economic development of Fayum.

6. Siwa Environmental Amelioration Project (SEAP) Economic development and environmental amelioration of the oasis of Siwa enhanced, through the strengthening of local NGO and the Protected Area (PA).

7. Solid Waste Management in Minya (SWMM) A pilot scheme in the governorate of Minya established in order to consolidate the institutional capacity in the sector of solid waste management.

8. Program Coordination Unit (PCU) The Program is planned, executed and managed in accordance with the MOU between the Governments of Egypt and Italy and within the framework of the National Environmental Action Plan 2002-2017, following the expectations of the Italian Cooperation and MSEA/EEAA.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The main results achieved by the eight components of the Programs are in line with the targets as hereunder listed:

1. Decision Support System Based on Environmental Balance (DSS) - Collected important set of data and produced digital maps and GIS data. - Established Decision Support System package, computer-based on open source

software platform, to support integrated evaluation of alternative water resources plans on a long-term horizon (10 to 50 years).

- Developed 8 models to support the decision making process: Layout Data Control, Net Simulation for surface water quantity, Administrative Setting, Lake Nasser Simulation, Nasser management policy model, Groundwater Shallow e Groundwater Deep, Soil & Crops.

- Trained a young staff ready to continue the development of the tool. 2 Gabal Elba Protected Area (GEPA)

- Strengthened the PA management in terms of capacity building, equipment, vehicles and basic infrastructures, supported by a Management Plan.

- Enhanced the control and management of natural resources by: a) Preparing a Sensitivity Map for the coast, with training on the job; b) Executing monitoring campaigns, with training on the job, for fauna and flora.

- Established a Visitor Center in Shalatheen, managed in partnership with RASPADA, an NGO established with the assistance of the project and supported in producing handicrafts.

- Enhanced the educational and social development at the communities’ level, through supporting awareness and infrastructures improvements.

3. Institution and Capacity Building for Nature Conservation Sector (NCSCB)



- Enhanced the capacity of NCS (Nature Conservation Sector) through training, policies development, establishment of technical and administrative procedures.

- Produced, in cooperation with LIFP project, a comprehensive study and official documents for the establishment of a Nature Conservation Authority as a semi-autonomous/parastatal entity affiliated to the MSEA, with specific policy and mandate to reach self financing (to overcome the problem of current inadequate operational funds received by the PAs from the ordinary EEAA’s budget allocation).

- Established 3 Technical Units within the structure of the NCS for managing the Protected Area system (Planning, Environmental Impact Assessment - EIA & Licensing, and Marketing / Business promotion).

- Prepared, in collaboration with the relevant staff of the PAs, the Management Plans for the PAs of Gabal Elba, Gilf Kebir (frame work), Nabaq, Petrified Forest, Qarun, Ras Mohamed (draft), Taba, Wadi Degla and White Desert (draft).

- Prepared, in collaboration with the relevant staff of the PAs, the Business Plans for NCS department, Wadi Rayan and Ras Mohamed.

- Applied the methodology of "Rapid Assessment/RAPPAM" for the national system of PAs to determine the extent to which they are achieving their objectives. Along with that the project carried out a "Management Effectiveness Evaluation/MEE" for 4 PAs: Wadi Rayan, Qarun, Santa Katerina e Ras Mohamed, where the findings and recommendations were introduced to a 5-years action plan for their management improvement.

- Conducted a "Training Need Assessment" for the entire NCS department, prepared a training action plan and delivered training courses to 100 rangers.

- Conducted for EEAA as much as 292 Environmental Impact Assessments/EIA linked to PAs. Prepared, in collaboration with LIFP, a Manual on procedures and monitoring.

- Rehabilitated the pathway's network of the Nabq PA for ecoturism development. - Produced 100,000 standardized leaflets for 10 PAs in Arabic and English along with a

retaining folders, published 1500 copies of illustrated report titled "Protected Areas of Egypt – Towards The Future" and designed a dedicated website for PAs in both Arabic and English languages.

- Prepared the work plan and initiated its implementation in support to the National Parks of the Governorate of the New Valley, the White Desert and Gilf El Kebir (PANV: Protected Areas of the New Valley). The activity replaces the foreseen support to the Protected Area of Siwa (see below project n. 6) and it is expected to be completed by December 31st, 2008.

4. Legal and Institutional Framework Project(LIFP)

- Strengthened the institutional and legal framework of EEAA by updating the legislation and the regulatory framework for solid waste management, protected areas and marine environment policy.

- Produced several studies on project sectors (solid waste management, marine environment and protected areas).

- Prepared the draft for the revision of Environmental Law n.4 of 1994 and presented to the Egyptian Parliament for approval, in order to better deal with sustainable development.

- Supported the established of Environmental Courts (October 2007) and organized several training courses on legal and technical aspects for 300 environmental judges and prosecutors.

- Strengthened NCS Department and EEAA by provision of three vehicles, equipment and training courses for law reinforcement.



5. Wadi El Rayan Protected Area (WRPA) - Strengthened the management of the PA in terms of capacity building, equipment,

vehicles, improvement of infrastructures, enhancement of its administrative and technical capacities and increased financial sustainability.

- Enhanced the capacity building of the staff through training courses including first aid, swimming, English language and extra education on technical school, bachelors, masters, doctorates.

- Prepared the Business Plan, with the support of NCSCBP. - Updated the five-year Management Plan, in collaboration with NCSCBP. - Enhanced the Collaborative Management among stakeholders through quarterly

meetings held with the Petroleum Company, fishers, tourism operators, land reclamation and the Italian NGO COSPE (project IDS/05: Sustainable Rural Development of Wadi El Rayan and Fayum New Land Settlement), cafeteria, boat owners and the Fayoum Governorate.

- Developed skill on handicraft for 30 women. - Developed and diversified the ecotourism sector linked to the PA by establishing and

arranging new Camping Areas, Bird Hides, Trails and Lookouts. New stone signs were constructed using natural materials that are consistent with the local natural landscape.

- Strengthened the Environmental Management Unit of the Fayoum Governorate in consultation with EEAA by provision of ARCGIS software and training, integrating their current support program under DANIDA.

- Initiated the integration between WRPA recreational and educational functions and the archaeological site of Medinet Madi by conducting the EIA for the track connecting the two areas (Medinet Madi is being developed through the project ISSEMM (DGDC funds within EIECP), which has been on-hold from February 2007, but will re-start its activities on November 2008.

- Improved the Visitor Center by restructuring the buildings and installing new displays, to enhance the functions of WRPA as a leading site for environmental education.

- Published and released Information, Education and Communication materials: a) WRPA Visitor Discovery Guide 2008: 15,000 English copies, 35,000 Arabic copies; b) Guide to Wadi El-Hitan Open Air Museum in English and Arabic: 10,000 copies; c) Visitor’s Map for Hitan Open Air Museum: 5,000 copies (English and Arabic); d) Birds of Wadi El-Rayan and Checklist of the Birds: 3,000 copies (English and

Arabic) and 1,500 copies in English and Arabic respectively; e) “Whales of the Desert” DVD about Wadi Hitan: 5,000 copies (English and Arabic).

- Established the NGO "The Friends of Wadi Hitan" aiming to preserve the values of the PA, supporting the development of the local community and the PA sustainability.

- Declared Wadi El-Hitan (Valley of Fossil Wales) "World Heritage (natural) Site" by UNESCO in 2005, managed as recommended by the World Heritage Committee:

- Prepared and executed the Site Specific Conservation Plan, a) Closed the Valley to traffic and marked new tracks from Baharia to 6th October, b) Established the needed infrastructure in the service area;

Open Museum - Wadi El Hitan



c) Established and made operational the Open Air Museum. Its salient features include: construction of seven stations equipped with didactic panels; finalization of the walking tracks;

d) Organized the ceremony to commemorate the inscription of Wadi Hitan on the UNESCO World Heritage List and handing over of the World Heritage Certificate held on February 10, 2008 and honoured by the presence of H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak and several Ministers.

6. Siwa Environmental Amelioration Project (SEAP)

- Enhanced the sustainable agricultural production for socio economic development and environmental amelioration of the Siwa oasis through micro credit facilities managed by the local NGO, Siwa Community Development and Environmental Conservation Association (SCDEC) and implementing following activities: a) creating an appropriate project management structure, b) establishing an irrigation scheme of 16 feddans, distributed to young graduates

(organized in an informal association) and cultivated by adopting organic farming certified methodologies, intercropping vegetables with fruit trees and introducing the water conservation techniques of the drip irrigation system,

c) establishing a Livestock Demonstration farm, to improve stocks with the introduction of adapted varieties of sheep and goats and disseminate improved feeding techniques;

d) distributing livestock (cattle, sheep, goats) to individual beneficiaries, in particular women, as income generating activities,

e) introducing artificial insemination for cows, through initial services received from West Noubaria project (IDS/01) and continued with local human resources specifically trained,

f) organizing pruning for olive trees for improving old farms, g) organizing production of compost by establishing a mobile unit, h) maintaining the status of certified organic farming on more than 100 feddans

initiated during the 1st phase, i) organizing marketing and trading facilities, for national and international markets. It is worth mentioning that the starting of the activities was heavily delayed due to disagreement with the Governorate about the utilization of funds for the Protected Area, therefore the project will continue its activity until June 2009 in order to complete 3 effective years of field implementation.

- Strengthened SCDEC through provision of training and facilities. In addition: a) SCDEC was introduced into the Fair Trade international network, thus facilitating

the regular exports of dates and herbs to the European market and exposing the NGO to multiples occasions for trade developments by participating to several specialized organic food fairs in Italy.

b) Established, through the supported given to SCDEC and Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, the Siwa (Dates) Presidium ("A safe haven for great foods that protect the producers against the tide of globalization food production"), the first nominated in Egypt. Thus, a delegation lead by the Governor of Matrouh accompanied on the occasion the representatives of SCDEC participated to the Terra Madre event in October 2006 in Italy.

- Prepared and published, to develop Siwa region as a leading eco-tourism site, the study "Towards an integrated strategy for sustainable tourism in Siwa", containing also the infrastructural plan for the Protected Area premises and the executive design for the construction of the Visitor Center. The study was not implemented due to cancellation



of the PA component in April 2007 and transfer of funds to the Protected Areas/Parks of the New Valley (see above project n. 3).

- Developed the Solid Waste Management by: 1. Establishing the Solid Waste database, 2. Framing and Implementing the Solid Waste Management Framework, 3. Increasing the capacity of the Municipality.

7. Solid Waste Management in Minya Governorate (SWMM) - Collected and elaborated a considerable amount of data concerning the solid wastes in

the Governorate. - Improved the Governorate solid waste management system on planning, management

and monitoring. A SWM Unit has been established, along with eight peripheral offices. - Enhanced staff capacity building, through traditional training, training on the job and

field visits in Egypt and abroad. - Established a GIS Unit and a Database, both supported by a Decision Support System

for the planning and management of the solid wastes. - Improved, sharing the cost with EEAA and Governorate, the composting plant of the

Minya city. - Prepared a reference plan for the management of solid waste of the Governorate,

including a complete executive plan developed for three different functional areas, which can be replicated in other rural governorates and paves the way to the establishment of an integrated system that can be managed by both public and private entities.

8. Program Coordination Unit (PCU) The main results of the PCU consisted on orienting, supervising and monitoring the individual projects in achieving their targets. In short, the success of the Program is also correlated to the effectiveness of the PCU, within the obvious limitation of its authority. The main activities performed are hereunder listed:

- Assisted the projects in the finalization, through comments, of their Work Plans, Progress Reports and Financial Statements discussed in the Project Executives Committee (PEC), all attended;

- Participated in numerous meetings held within the framework of pushing towards effective Program implementation;

- Continuously linked with all partners of the projects providing all soft assistance to the executing and implementing agencies in addition to the assistance and support to projects, both financially and technically;

- Supported and facilitated the Program implementation by following up with the time table and semester targets for all the projects;

- Represented the Program in the Environment Donor sub-group regular meetings; - Supported the Italian Cooperation and EEAA in linking with environmental initiatives

for synergies with the Program; - Organized the constitution of the Evaluation Panel for the DSS project and followed up

its work; - Established a web site: www.eiecop.org .

PROJECT IMPACT

In terms of alignment with the Egyptian Government guidelines and plans, the EIECP Project complies in full with:



(a) The objectives defined by the MSEA and its executive agency, the EEAA as follows: (1) Strategic: to introduce and integrate environmental concerns relevant to the protection of human health and management of natural resources into all national policies, plans, and Programs, (2) Medium-term: to preserve Egypt’s natural resources, biodiversity, and the national heritage within the context of sustainable development.

(b) The priorities identified within the MSEA/EEAA Fifth 5-Year Plan 2002 – 2007, reflecting the NEAP 2002-2017: (i) Sound management of solid waste in all Governorates to protect the natural resources and the public health (National program for waste management), (ii) Protecting the bio diversity and promoting the sound management of national parks. Protecting the physical history through building a physical history museum (Nature protection and national parks management program), (iii) Supporting the institutional capacity required for environmental management at the national level. Develop the performance of the EEAA departments and Regional Branch Offices, (iv) Benefit from international cooperation opportunities in the field of environment to solve the environmental problems in Egypt (International cooperation program), (v) Activate the role of NGOs to protect the environment. Attract local investments to the environmental fields, and (vi) Protecting the Nile River and water resources through controlling industrial discharge.

In terms of effects on the reference sector, the components of the Project had in general a very positive impact, by introducing environmental awareness and rationalizing natural resources management, water use, protection of biodiversity and solid waste management. With the following specific contributions from the projects:

Project n.1 – DSS

In terms of the effects, the innovative nature of the tool developed has raised a great interest, given the foreseen crucial issues on the management of the scarce water resources in the Country and in the region. The Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation has actively participated to the workshops organized by the project, expressing his expectations and his eagerness for the utilization of the tool, which could be beneficial for the entire Mediterranean region. He praised the project for the capacity attained by of the staff, particularly the young.

In terms of sustainability, the EIECP Mid Term Evaluation (MTE) and the Evaluation Panel of DSS were seriously concerned about the scientific/technical, financial and institutional sustainability of the DSS package after the completion of the project, given that the package requires continuous updating of data input and continuous upgrading of modeling components. The Panel therefore recommended that: (a) a protocol be signed between the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the different stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of data provisions and update, (b) for future upgrading of the DSS package, some graduate students/trainees for enhanced modeling and applications should be involved, and (c) the institutional set-up must be defined, identifying who will access to the package and under which mechanism.

Project n.2 - GEPA

In terms of the effects, the modest financial resources allocated have anyway produced an effective improvement on the management capacity of the Protected Area and an encouraging response from the local community, which was involved in income generating activities and social development for their effective welfare.

In terms of sustainability, the project intervention, though modest in financial terms, has



helped on consolidating the management of the PA to a reasonable extent, which can be maintained. The strict limitations imposed on the foreigners to access the area (allowed until Shalateen only) for security reasons remains however the main limiting factor for future expanded donor assisted endeavors. The establishment of the ONG RASPADA will certainly ensure the continuation of the income generating activities undertaken on handicraft for the social and economic development of the local community. Moreover, given its positive results, the NGO has been selected as a partner of the project of IEDS 2 Sustainable Development in the Southern Egyptian Red Sea and this will provide an immediate opportunity for consolidating its status on pursuing and expanding the activities done.

Project n. 3 - NCSCB

In terms of the effects, the status of Nature Conservation Sector, elevated by the MSEA to the range of Department, has been improved. Nevertheless, the project has worked for further structural changes in order to manage the network of the Protected Areas in an effective and modern way. To this end, innovative tools have been introduced like the Business Plan process for both the Department and the Protected Areas, to pursue their financial sustainability. The executive studies and publications prepared represent a valuable reference for the entire department. The web site established provides information and visibility to the PAs network.

In terms of sustainability, the achievements have contributed to raise interest of other donors to continue investing into Institution Building for Nature Conservation efforts. The foundation work carried out has been instrumental in preparing the ground for the new project EEAA/GEF/UNDP Strengthening the National System of Protected Areas, already approved and which will take over many of the activities initiated by NCSCB, including the issue of achieving sustainable financing, which has its “limiting factors” in the legal and institutional areas. Nevertheless, further support could be oriented to consolidate the PA system, in terms of establishment of new PAs as well as revitalization of some of the existing PAs, towards an effective sustainable PA network.

Project n.4 - LIFP

In terms of the effects, the project has been instrumental for two main achievements that impact the legislation: (1) Improvement of the Environmental Law n.4 for 1994, to be more adequate to the needs of sustainable development, and (2) Establishment of the Environmental Courts, specialized for the environmental crimes, through training provided to 300 specialized judges on judicial and technical aspects.

In terms of sustainability, the project has strengthened the internal capacity of EEAA throughout its implementation, which would ensure the sustainability of the efforts done in the specific areas dealt within a structure (Legal Office) that guarantees a regular operational budget.

Project n. 5 - WRPA

In terms of the effects, Wadi Rayan represents today for the MSEA the reference model for the management of a terrestrial protected area, in terms of management, human and technical resources. The PA has acted as pioneer for the entire NCS, introducing for the first time in

White desert national Park



Egypt the Management Plan, the Business Plan and the Management Effectiveness tools. The knowledge accumulated on WRPA management and sustainability can support EEAA in formulating effective policies in Protected Areas. The exemplary development of the site of Wadi Hitan, universally praised, has attracted the attention of the specialized international scientific community over the PA and provides a good model for the successful development and management of a world-class park.

In terms of sustainability, this is quite demanding, given the high level of support received in almost ten years of donor assistance. It will be impossible to maintain the level of effectiveness reached through the assistance of the project under the current operational budget of EEAA. It will be therefore necessary that the PA shall implement its Business Plan, and that the MSEA accordingly approve some changes of its current policies, procedures and regulations. (see above project n. 3). The NGO "The Friends of Wadi Hitan" would contribute to financial sustainability by retaining funds from sales for re-printing, including the DVD. It is worth mentioning that in Wadi Rayan the value of economic activities is quite high and there is a huge gap between the revenues collected by investors in different economic activities and the concession and/or lease paid annually to the government authorities including the Central Treasury and the EEAA. Matter of concern is also the new track connecting the asphalt road to Wadi Hitan, completed in 2006, but seriously degraded: ultimately, the road base should be improved to a higher grade that lasts longer and requires less maintenance. The Twinning and Cooperative Research agreements signed with Gran Sasso National Park of Italy and the Michigan University respectively constitute models of collaboration toward opportunities for sustainability.

Project n. 6 - SEAP

In terms of the effects, for the sustainable agriculture the project used an exemplary approach in involving the local population in the planning process concerning the criteria adopted for the selection of the beneficiaries, the distribution of the inputs and their foreseen usage, as praised by the Mid Term Evaluation. The initial stages of most of the activities have been equally encouraging, while unforeseen difficulties and weaknesses emerged during the course of operations from the SCDEC, the main partner and beneficiary representing the entire local community for managing the revolving fund deputed to continue and expand the activities undertaken by the project. Regarding the Solid Waste Component, it is too early to record any impact. Above all, it is worth mentioning that the overall effects of the project on the oasis will be anyway limited by the cancellation of the Protected Area component, which was instrumental for developing the eco-tourism as diversified engine for the socio-economic development of the local community while preserving the natural resources.

The sustainability of the activities undertaken in agriculture will essentially depends from the level of achievements that will be obtained within June 2009, foreseen date of the project completion. In fact the project has heavily invested, as mentioned above, in the local association SCDEC, which has been strengthened and provided with the full portfolio of the loan disbursed under a micro-credit scheme, but its recent weaknesses have raised concern about its sustainability. Therefore the remedial measures that will be taken in the remaining period of the project shall ensure the correct use of the revolving fund to give continuity to the activities undertaken. Concerning the Solid Waste Management, the sustainability is ensured by the municipality, which has been strengthened by the project in terms of provision of equipment, planning and monitoring capacities.



Project n. 7 - SWMM

In terms of the effects, the project has demonstrated to the local institutions that the solid waste management requires a systemic approach, starting from a comprehensive collection of data concerning the area, the quantity and quality of waste and the financial management to be adopted, and ending up with the final treatment of the waste. The working methodology adopted by the project has extensively involved the population in the different steps of the implementation, earmarked by several seminars and conferences organized with the local communities. Above all, the Project Executives Committees meetings, deputed to decide about the plans and endorse the progress, have always been held with the participation with the heads of the districts. Shortly, the project succeeded in acquiring the full involvement of the population, sharing commitments and responsibilities.

In terms of sustainability, the pilot project envisioned will be implemented within the IEDS 2, in the framework of the executive studies prepared and all foundation work carried out. The Solid Waste Management Unit created by the project, which has received the offices, furniture and equipment, has not been discontinued in its activities after the termination of the project.

Project n.8 - PCU

In terms of the effects, the PCU has been instrumental, by its tasks, to support the activities of the projects and therefore has been always connected, in different degrees, to their successes and failures.

The sustainability is not applicable to PCU. However, the National Coordinator has acquired an invaluable experience that would be beneficial within EEAA.



NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY AND NATURAL HERITAGE INVENTORY

AND MONITORING SYSTEMS (BIOMAP)

Project Code: IDS/23 Applicant: Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency

Implementing Agency: United Nations Development Programme Total Project Budget: LE 6,841,410 (Euro 1,079,087)

Project Expenditure at June 2008: LE 6,641,161 (Euro 1,047,502) Location: National


Expected Completion Date: June 30, 2008

OBJECTIVE

In the light of the efforts undertaken by the Government of Egypt to fulfil its obligations in the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, this project seeks to develop and strengthen biodiversity research, monitoring and assessment across Egypt by enhancing ability and capacity of the Nature Conservation Sector (NCS) of the EEAA, through its Biodiversity Department, to protect, manage and develop Egypt’s wild resources.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Biodiversity Department at the NCS upgraded and strengthened.

System of recording, evaluating and monitoring biodiversity improved.

A communication, education and public awareness programme developed.

A strategic plan for the institution of a natural history museum developed.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The expected results have been largely achieved, as hereunder documented:

Strengthened the National Biodiversity Unit of NCS by recruitment of new staff, provision of training, equipments and facilities, to work with biodiversity information.

Established a National Database of Biodiversity Records (about ¾ million records have been entered). These records are largely complete for a number of important taxa (butterflies, mammals, reptiles and a number of plant and insect families), together with published assessments in a standardised manner including Red Data Listing, prediction models using environmental predictors, gap analysis (is the Protected Area system in Egypt sufficient?), hotspots, and analysis of the impact of land use plans. The situation is of course constantly changing and being updated by new information.

Egyptian biodiversity



Published all the records in a web-based biodiversity database (with the support of Wadi El-Rayan Protected Area - IDS 22). This website allows decision-makers and other users to make analyses about the biodiversity of Egypt in several ways and using various methods.

Linked the Biodiversity database with improved monitoring by rangers so that a mechanism exists for keeping biodiversity information up to date. To this end, a national grid system for monitoring biodiversity in the Protected Areas of Egypt has been established and run in three Protectorates (Saluga & Ghazal, Ras Mohamed and St Katherine.

Introduced, in collaboration with NCS Capacity Building Project (IDS 22), the Management Effectiveness tool for the evaluation (using the RAPPAM methodology) of three Protected Areas, utilized for the first time in Arab countries

Conducted a comprehensive training course in modern monitoring methods and statistical analysis to a number of specialized rangers from each Protected Area. Another training course was delivered on the standard use of IUCN categories and criteria, and their applications to regional and national assessments for the Egyptian fauna and flora (Red Data List), and on the standard methodology about how to do mapping, atlassing and monitoring in Protected Areas.

Made available to all PAs the identification guide books and a special statistical programme (“Biomap Statistical software”) to help analyze the records. Provided also other facilities to run the monitoring programme.

Produced a digital map containing 22 different habitats. This map, along with other environmental maps (temperature, rain fall, soil type, altitude, etc.) has been used for predicting the abundance and distribution of the Egyptian fauna and flora.

Produced a preliminary Egyptian Gazetteer that contains more than 6000 localities with uniform English and Arabic names, correct latitude and longitude, and estimated error of location.

Produced the Butterflies of Egypt as the first output of the database. Some other groups are almost complete and awaiting publication, including mammals, some plant groups (Euphorbiaceae, Umbelliferae & Apocyneaceae), reptiles and amphibians, and some insect groups (dragonflies and potter wasps).

Produced sets of web pages on the main taxonomic groups (butterflies, mammals, reptiles, and some insects and plant groups) at the species level, together with identification guides.

Developed a number of case studies on hot issues about biodiversity in Egypt, including invasive species, IUCN Red List categories and criteria, economics on the value of pollination services to Egypt, waste disposal and biodiversity, tourism pressure, trapping migrant birds, trade in endangered species, global warming, bird migration, biodiversity and the fossil record, ecotourism, the pet trade, and rarity. These case studies have been produced in a variety of output formats, including an information booklet, PowerPoint slides for a talk delivered to decision-makers and another for the public.

Collected and published the available Arabic names for the animals and plants of Egypt.

Established a Clearing House Mechanism, the Web-based information centre demanded by the Convention for Biological Diversity. This contains large numbers of web-pages and PDF documents on all topics of relevance to biodiversity.

Established the Biomap Forum, a Web-based gateway of communication on biodiversity issues for Arabic speakers worldwide.



Delivered a comprehensive set of Public Awareness materials for children on biodiversity issues. Each set discusses an issue of biodiversity concern in the context of a particular species in a named Protectorate. Books have been produced for two age ranges (infants and juniors), as well a claymation film. These stories and the films have been distributed widely within the Egyptian school system, public libraries and culture centres.

Delivered a plan for an Egyptian National Natural History Museum, which Biomap regards as the appropriate vehicle for long-term sustainability of maintaining the biodiversity database. Museum staff would be charged with researching on and maintaining the collections, but also with providing identification and monitoring services, and helping to initiate and sustain monitoring schemes both inside and outside the Protected Areas.

Put all the reports and outputs on the Biomap website: www.biomapegypt.org

PROJECT IMPACT

In terms of alignment with Egyptian Government guidelines and plans, the project complies in full with:

(a) The objectives defined by the MSEA and its executive arm, the EEAA as follows: (1) Strategic: to introduce and integrate environmental concerns relevant to the protection of human health and management of natural resources into all national policies, plans, and Programs, (2) Medium-term: to preserve Egypt’s natural resources, biodiversity, and the national heritage within the context of sustainable development,

(b) The priorities identified within the MSEA/EEAA Fifth 5-Year Plan 2002 – 2007, reflecting the NEAP 2002-2017 which include: (i) Protecting the bio diversity and promoting the sound management of national parks. Protecting the physical history through building a physical history museum (Nature protection and national parks management program), (ii) Supporting the institutional capacity required for environmental management at the national level, (iii) Benefit from international cooperation opportunities in the field of environment to solve the environmental problems in Egypt (International cooperation program).

In terms of effects of the reference sector, the project has made a real breakthrough by introducing modern methodologies and technologies for the collection and recording of the inputs. The awareness and education have also represented an outstanding achievement, in particular for the schools. The functions of the web-based database established where all records are published are unique and Egypt could be the first country in the world having its national records of all biodiversity displayed directly on the web site. In conclusion, it can be stated that the project has given the opportunity to all the interested persons (in the country and abroad) to actively participate to the preservation of the biodiversity resources of the country.

In terms of sustainability, the Biodiversity Department of NCS would ensure the continuation of the activities, which is essential in order to maintain the information updated and complete the activities partially completed. In consideration of the usual operational budget available to the Department and the level of human resource available, it is hardly believable that this will be possible. Therefore, it is understandable that the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs has submitted a request for a second phase of Biomap under IEDS 2, which would expand the intervention with a more integrated approach with the existing Protected Areas near Cairo. Regarding the institution of the Natural History Museum, the plan will be promoted to UNESCO and to the community of stakeholders.



EVALUATION, DEVELOPMENT AND EXECUTION OF SOME FLASH

FLOOD PROTECTION WORKS AT WADI WATIER – SOUTH SINAI


Implementing Agency: Water Resources Research Institute Total Project Budget: LE 18,884,000 (Euro 2,978,549)

IDS Share: LE 13,000,000 (Euro 2,050,473) Project Final Expenditure: LE 12,999,420 (Euro 2,050,382)

Other Contributions: LE 5,884,000 (Euro 928,076) Location: Wadi Watier (Gov. South Sinai)


Completion Date: August 20, 2006

OBJECTIVE

The project is based on the conclusions of a study completed in 1996 and financed by the Italian Cooperation, which addressed the problem of frequent destructive floods that occur in the area of Wadi Watier, in South Sinai. Its main objective is to protect the infrastructures of Nuweiba city and the road connecting Nuweiba with Ras El Naqab from damages caused by flash floods and save part of the water flood as additional water resource to the area.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Three detention dams and one artificial lake constructed. Additional water resources available, through aquifer recharging. Less damages to the Road network and infrastructure of the area.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in August 2006. The first two years of the project were devoted to revision and updating of studies concerning the area of Wadi Watier, through site investigations, geological, geophysical, hydro-geological and hydrological studies. Technical assistance was provided to the project through collaborations with the University of Palermo and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari.

Floods in Nuweiba



Based on the findings of studies, designing and tendering procedures were put into place for the construction of three detention dams (Qudira 1, Qudira 2 and El Hegny) and one artificial lake. All civil works were completed.

An important effect achieved by the project is the possibility to provide additional water resources, through aquifer recharging, from the water harvested by the three dams and the lake. To this regard, the project implemented research on aquifer recharging, by collecting data on rainfall and updating isohyetal maps.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project has provided a source of the surface water upstream to the constructed dams with volume of 2.6 million cubic meters, which could significantly play an important role to resolve water scarcity problem of the area and it has also contributed to maximize the use of ground water recharge through flood waters leaked into the soil.

Positive effects have been recorded among Bedouins settlements due to the increased water availability and to the recovered safety of the road between Nuweiba and Ras el Naqab.

Execution of protection works



WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT FOR AGRICULTURAL

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTHERN VALLEY

Project Code: IDS/25 Applicant and Implementing Agency: National Water Research Centre


Project Final Expenditure: LE 11,411,868 (Euro 1,799,979) Other Contributions: LE 8,526,000 (Euro 1,344,795)

Location: Toshka (Gov. Aswan) Project Duration: 3,5 years

Start Date: September 6, 2003 Completion Date: March 31, 2007

OBJECTIVE

The project tries to promote comprehensive agricultural development for the area of Toshka, an area of approximately 540,000 feddans (226,800 hectares), which is characterized by availability of water through the new established channel from the lake Nasser, abundant land resources and good weather conditions. These natural factors can potentially guarantee diversity in crop growth, opportunities within international markets and a contribution to national food security. For this reason, the project aims at enhancing the role of local farmers, by supporting them with extension services.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Agricultural production and productivity in the target area improved and skills and knowledge of farmers enhanced.

Greater information available on agricultural practices and irrigation systems in the area of the project, to support investors and farmers.

Greater knowledge achieved on the socio-economic status of beneficiaries.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in March 2007 and it was implemented through a positive cooperation experience between the NWRC and the Agricultural Research Centre of the MALR.

Farmers and their production in Toshka



At the conclusion, the project found significant improvements in terms of greater yield, larger cultivated area, deeper technical knowledge of beneficiaries and better quality of production. In order to achieve this result, the project carried out two main categories of extension services for farmers: periodical consultations and training.

In relation to consultations, the project established on the field a Consultation and Information Unit (CIU), composed of experts who were responsible for conveying information and providing technical assistance to the beneficiaries. Consultations were provided to four groups of beneficiaries: 20 permanent farmers (receiving assistance for all the duration of the project); 217 variable farmers (selected randomly and visited by consultants only in specific periods of the project); 73 visitors (farmers who spontaneously requested assistance to the CIU); 4 investors (large companies investing in the area). Main problems of beneficiaries concerned: cultivation techniques, use of irrigation systems, quality of soil, logistics and marketing, machinery. The CIU helped all beneficiaries in finding solutions for their problems.

With regard to training, the project enhanced skills of more than 460 farmers, by implementing several training workshops on: management of agricultural lands, on-farm irrigation management, crop management and integrated management for soil and water resources.

Another important result achieved by the project was the identification of several recommendations on the most suitable irrigation systems and agricultural practices for the area of Toshka. This result was achieved by establishing two experimental farms and implementing research activities in the field and laboratory analysis on soil and water. All information collected was also used to provide better assistance and transfer of knowledge to farmers during consultations and training.

Finally, the project was able to conduct a study, through two rounds of questionnaires for a sample of 288 farmers, concerning the socio-economic status of beneficiaries in the area. This study is an important and precious source of information for supporting any future planning and intervention in Toshka.

The activities of the project were supported by the elaboration of two important tools that are now available to support any development project in the area: a GIS and a database collecting all the information on the different components of the project and the activities of the CIU.

PROJECT IMPACT

Significant impact in Toshka was indicated by greater yield, high quality crop due to using pure water and no chemicals, larger cultivated area, eagerness among beneficiaries to attend the training, and new experiences gained by NMRC's specialists –including training in Italy. This also had an indirect positive effect on crop exports because NWRC's staff relayed their acquired experience to private large farms in Toshka whose output is exported, as advised by NWRC's President.

For the first time in Toshka, a field CIU was established, and provided with a GIS and database. It served large numbers of beneficiaries. As guarantee of the project continuity and

Research laboratory



sustainability, the CIU will be maintained under the umbrella of NWRC by government-decree, with operating costs financed by part of NWRC's research income, hence a sustained activity with sustained positive impact.

According to NWRC, MALR will provide them with additional 1,000 feddans for cultivation. Toshka's successful project also served as a demonstration that encouraged the Canadian cooperation to get involved in cultivating the remaining 92 feddans of the above-mentioned land-plot allocated for experimentation.



LEPROSY ELIMINATION IN EGYPT



Location: National Project Duration: 4 years Start Date: March 1, 2004

Completion Date: January 31, 2008

OBJECTIVE

Although the prevalence of leprosy has significantly reduced, the number of new cases detected is still relatively high which means that there is still active transmission of the disease in the community. Therefore, this project aims at strengthening the leprosy control programme, by detecting and treating hidden cases, in order to reach the elimination target at a national level.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Capacity of health staff in passive case finding enhanced.

Active case finding intensified.

Community awareness on prevention increased.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in January 2008.

Passive case finding capacity was enhanced through several training workshops in different governorates of the country. Thus, more than 7,300 health staff operators were trained (doctors, nurses, sanitarians) in Kafr El Sheikh, Qena, Beni Suef, Fayum, Minya, Sharqeya, Beheira, Asyut, Sohag, Aswan, Qalyubeya, Menufeya, Daqahleya and Giza.

With regard, to active case finding, the project implemented contact surveys to detect new leprosy cases

in Kafr El Sheikh, Qena, Sohag, Asyut, Minya, Sharqeya and Daqahleya. From the surveys, it came out that 2,551 families were examined and 212 new cases detected. The percentage of leprosy cases identified for the sample examined in each governorate was around 8%.

Medical examinations during contact surveys

Medical examinations during contact

surveys



The Egyptian healthcare structure has been enhanced through the construction of a new leprosy clinic in Daqahleya governorate. Furthermore, technical assistance and office equipment has been provided.

To promote further prevention, the project implemented awareness workshops for more than 700 beneficiaries in Qalyubeya, Daqahleya, Fayum and Sohag.

PROJECT IMPACT The project gave an important contribution in supporting the national leprosy control program. This program was started by the Egyptian Government in 1929 and developed gradually in coverage and service delivery, following the various trends in control adopted on international level. In consideration of the fact that the number of new cases detected has not reduced significantly over the past 12 years, the MOHP has launched an intensive plan of action for renewal and construction of leprosy treatment centres, paying special attention to training all categories of human resources involved in programme implementation, from medical to paramedical, reaching also non-medical personnel. The programme is implemented in 18 Governorates of Egypt, the ones with the highest prevalence rates. The expected objective of the project has been in its entirety achieved, helping to reduce the prevalence rate from 0.33/10,000 population to 0.25/10,000. The health impact has been so far considered as positive. Nonetheless, the leprosy pathology is far to be eliminated. Although general prevalence of leprosy in Egypt is less than 1/10,000, there are still some districts were the prevalence is higher than 1/10,000. The percentage of infected children, higher than 10%, among the newly detected cases indicates that the disease is still active. Thus, the leprosy control programme of the MOHP will strengthen its commitment for the future in order to reduce the burden of leprosy, maintain the quality of services and improve care of patients.



PARTICIPATORY SLUM UPGRADING IN ISMAILIYA

Project Code: IDS/27 Applicant: Governorate of Ismailiya


Project Final Expenditure: LE 17,317,448 (Euro 2,731,459) Location: Districts of El Hallous and El Bahtini (Gov. Ismailiya)

Project Duration: 4 years Start Date: May 1, 2004


OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this project is to improve living conditions for the dwellers of two slum areas in the suburbs of Ismailiya, namely El Hallous and El Bahtini, through a comprehensive participatory upgrading approach. In fact, past experience showed that the mere provision of physical services and infrastructure is not able to change quality of life for slum dwellers while community mobilization and participation is essential to develop a sense of ownership and ensure the sustainability of the project achievements.

In this sense, the project represents a pilot initiative, which aims at establishing a best practice for a slum upgrading process based on an integrated participatory approach and addressing the physical, environmental, economic and social aspects, in order to achieve an effective sustainable development of the area.

Direct beneficiaries of the Project are approximately 15,000 settlers of both slum areas, among which a very high percentage of vulnerable marginalised groups such as widows, elderly and orphans. The majority of workers are poor fishermen, who are among the most deprived sector of the society, particularly impacted by the development of the last few years, with its consequences of pollution, reduced catch, lack of access to the lakes, a two months fishing ban introduced by law.

The Project is structured in three main components:

1. Building capacities of local authorities and communities in participatory local governance.

2. Providing basic municipal infrastructure and enhancing living environment, 3. Improving the social profile of slum dwellers

Participatory upgrading planning



EXPECTED RESULTS

Empowerment of local authorities and local communities to participate in decision making, planning, implementation and monitoring of the upgrading activities;

All inhabitants of the project area have access to paved roads and safe footpaths, piped potable water, electricity, latrines and connection with sanitation network;

Health, school and other social services available in the project areas.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The Project had achieved the following results:

Institutional Setup and capacity building

Under the expertise of UN Habitat, a comprehensive training program was implemented for the departments within the Governorate and Municipality that are involved in designing and implementing the upgrading of slum areas. The training provided them with the necessary technical know-how and build their capacities in participatory local governance, urban planning and management, decision-making, leadership and negotiations techniques, etc. Local communities were mobilized and directly involved in the decisions concerning the upgrading process, through a number of workshops on issues such as land secure tenure, participatory planning approach. Two inception meetings were also held at the beginning of the project in both areas and consultations have taken place continuously during the project life.

Four female community leaders were identified, selected and trained to assist the project and to interact with the other members of the community in order to raise their awareness on environmental preservation, health and hygiene, child and woman rights, etc. In order to enhance the participatory decision making techniques and to ensure an effective participation of the residents in upgrading activities, several working groups were established and monthly meetings are being

held on issues such as infrastructure, land tenure, social activities with the aim of minimizing possible traumatic effects of the upgrading particularly when relocation of houses and families is necessary.

Physical Upgrading

The Project launched a huge program of infrastructural works in order to enhance living environment in both slum areas, by providing all houses and establishments, with basic municipal infrastructure. Works implemented include:

Sanitation Network Potable Water Network Electricity Network

Clean-up campaign


IEDS Annual Report 2007 101

Paved Road and footpath network House Numbering and Street Signage Buildings painting and maintenance Green areas development Recreational areas development Solid Waste Management system

Social Upgrading

The Project did not focus only on the physical and infrastructure upgrading but also in improving the social profile of the slum dwellers, in particular through:

a. Enhancing educational services: all schools in the areas were fully renovated and 9 teachers were trained in medical first aid to deal with emergency situations; El Hallous Youth Centre was fully renovated and equipped with a gym.

b. Enhancing the income of poorer groups: temporary jobs were created through the infrastructural upgrading program launched by the Project; a credit scheme and a vocational training program were established in partnership with a local NGO in order to help and encourage the development of new micro businesses.

c. Improving the status of women: the Women Reproductive Health Unit in El Bahtini was renovated and fully equipped in collaboration with a sister UNDP project. ID cards and voting cards were issued for almost all women in both areas; literacy classes were organized and attendants who passed the final exam received an official certification; awareness campaigns were conducted to sensitize the community on public heath, environmental protection health hazards, child care, girls right, women empowerment, etc.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project priorities at a snapshot were the physical and social upgrading of the above mentioned slums areas, where developers could be interested in devoting them to tourism or residential use. The improvements in providing all facilities described in the project document had basically transformed degraded areas in fully served urban areas by public utilities.

The purpose of the project was to integrate the slums areas to the governmental system regularizing social conditions and establishing efficient infrastructure. Enhancing the income of poor groups and improving women status represent thus an important aspect of the sustainability as a whole. Having the beneficiaries directly took advantage from the positives changes, it can be suppose now that they try to contribute to keep them going on. The project had been able to involve as much as it could the direct beneficiaries, slum dwellers, letting them participate as far as possible.

The project in itself would already be an achievement to be mentioned in urban development books as a unique success story. Lessons from that should have to spread out teaching how to manage issues related to slums areas.



EXTENSION OF THE MEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Project Code: IDS/28 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Medical Research Institute – University of Alexandria


Location: Gov. Alexandria Project Duration: 2 years Start Date: May 1, 2005

Completion Date: May 31, 2007

OBJECTIVE

The project is linked to the project financed by the Italian Cooperation to upgrade the Medical Research Institute (MRI) of the University of Alexandria, which is specialized in the control of tropical and infectious diseases. Its aim is to contribute to the control of such diseases in Egypt and to strengthen the capacity of the MRI to provide specialist services, diagnosis, training and research.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A new outpatients department, new laboratories and a new biotechnology unit constructed within the MRI.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was completed successfully in May 2007, concluding all the civil works that were planned.

PROJECT IMPACT

Any consideration concerning the impact of the IDS project needs to be closely connected to the overall impact of the project funded by the Italian Cooperation, aimed at upgrading the structure and the services of the Medical Research Institute.

The civil works executed for the establishment of an additional floor, intended to hold new departments and the necessary biomedical equipment, must be linked to all those activities foreseen by the Italian project in order to allow MRI both to perform scientific research and provide health services to the local population. In fact, the interventions carried out on the

The MRI in Alexandria



external infrastructures, as well as the supply of biomedical equipment, meant the basic condition for the running of the Centre.

Nonetheless, the full operation of the Centre depends not only on the availability of suitable premises and facilities, but also on an efficient management system and adequate qualification of the human resources employed.

Therefore, the IDS project has positively impacted on the first of the above said components and, in consequence, the availability of appropriate infrastructures has represented the starting point for designing further interventions of capacity building and know how transfer. These initiatives will be carried out thanks to the strategic partnership between MRI and the Italian Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), which will enable MRI to have a leading role in the national health system reform as well as to raise its international projection.



FOOD FOR WORK

Project Code: IDS/29 Applicant and Implementing Agency: CARITAS Egypt

Total Project Budget: LE 1,450,440 (Euro 229,000) Project Expenditure at June 2007: LE 1,113,003 (Euro 175,552)

Location: National Project Duration: 4,5 years Start Date: August 14, 2003


OBJECTIVE

Food for work can be considered as an umbrella program with the objective of giving support to 400 poor families and more than 3000 individuals targeted by Caritas’ initiatives all over Egypt, through the regular supply of food grants, in order to reduce their financial burden and improving, in the same time, their health conditions. The program stems from the idea that food aid, given to the right people at the right time, makes it possible for them to devote time, energy and money to development opportunities. In fact, the distribution of food grants intends to encourage the beneficiaries to send their children to school, receive health care, as well as follow vocational trainings and

literacy classes.

EXPECTED RESULTS Living conditions for target groups raised New job opportunities created for women and young people; Level of literacy raised among women and young people; School Drop-out reduced among children of target groups; Awareness and health conditions raised.

ACHIEVED RESULTS The project has directly or indirectly contributed to the following achievements: Leprosy Program - Caritas is active in the Leprosarium of Abu Zaabal (Cairo) and Ameriya (Alexandria) with medical assistance activities, vocational training, literacy, micro credit program, etc. At April 2008 food aid had been provided to over 200 families for a total number of more than 1000 individuals to encourage beneficiaries to send their children to school and participate to literacy and vocational training classes.

Children of Abu Zaabal village having their lunch



Youth Working Camps - youth working camps were established by Caritas with the aim of engaging youth in rehabilitation, maintenance, construction and renovation works, planting, and of course recreational activities. At close of the project, food aid had been distributed to over 900 children as hot meal during the activities Micro-credit program – Caritas established this program to distribute small loans with the aim of helping the creation of new job opportunities and the establishment of new micro enterprises. Food grant represents a logical component of the aid with the aim of reducing the financial burden of the loan beneficiaries. Vocational Training Program – In order to encourage an effective participation to its vocational training program, Caritas, during the training sessions distributes hot meals to the students. New Reclaimed Lands Program – Caritas is distributing food to the young farmers in the new reclaimed lands of Nubareya area in order to sustain and strengthen the position of these farmers and relieve them of some financial burden until the lands will become more productive. Health Nutrition Education Program: food aid is regularly distributed to the beneficiaries of the seven Caritas’ Socio-medical Centers, which, at closing of activities, were providing assistance to over 4500 individuals, mainly mothers and children .

PROJECT IMPACT

While for a “food for work” project impact usually coincides with the achieved results in terms of number of beneficiaries, in this case Micro credit Program and the New Reclaimed Lands Program made a difference.

At the closing date of the project, food aid had been distributed to over 40 beneficiaries of the micro-credit program - mainly women - that were allowed to devote more money and time to income generating activities. The same holds true for the participation to the New Reclaimed Lands Program.

At April 2008 over 125 families with more than 900 beneficiaries, 1/3 of them children, had received food grants relieving them in the very difficult time in between crops production.

Distribution of food allow children to go to school



ASSESSMENT OF WATER USERS ASSOCIATIONS IN EGYPT


Total Project Budget: LE 528,000 (Euro 83,281) IDS Share: LE 200,000 (Euro 31,546)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 199,907 (Euro 31,531) Other Contributions: LE 328,000 (Euro 51,735)

Location: National Project Duration: 1 year

Start Date: October 1, 2003 Completion Date: November 30, 2004

OBJECTIVE

One of the main strategies of the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation to improve performance of irrigations systems is the promotion of Water Users Associations (WUA), which are groups of farmers, all served by a common source of water, who join together to allocate, distribute and manage water. The aim of this project was to identify recommendations on proper water management by conducting a study that measured the performance of WUA through the development of some assessment indicators.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A participatory rural appraisal and a field survey of WUA developed.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The study was developed by analysing a sample of 369 farmers belonging to WUA located in the governorates of Sharqeya, Minya and Beheira.

These areas were: 1) Kemry Canal in Shaqeya Governatorate, 2) Mantout canal in Minya Governatorate and 3) El-Buastan canal in the new reclaimed lands of the west Delta, Beheira Governatorate. Three associations in each area were covered with a total sample size of 369 farmers chosen for interviews. The associations were selected to have one mesqa at the beginning, one at the middle and one at the end of the canal in addition to one control mesqa without a WUA for comparison. The assessment process utilized three main approaches: a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), a formal field survey and the development of assessment indicators.



From the participatory rural appraisal it was discovered that farmers are not always convinced of the usefulness of WUA, funds are often not sufficient to tackle problems and there is a strong need for proper maintenance systems.

From the field survey it was noted that WUA have increased environmental awareness among farmers.

Assessment indicators were elaborated and they focused on sufficiency of irrigation water, water distribution, environmental awareness, socio-economic impact and gender; most of the problems were identified in relation to water distribution.

Training was provided to large numbers of WUA-members. The trainees realized the benefits from the training and they were eager to join and used to queue to find places in the sessions. This training was replicated by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) in eight other governorates in addition to those covered by the project. This indicates a perceived positive impact. According to NWRC, MWRI expanded then on WUA-establishment, and sought funding for that purpose. Some private firms, as Mobinil, donated cell phones and agricultural tractors.

PROJECT IMPACT Establishing Water User Association allows farmers to perform activities, which are more difficult to carry out individually.

These associations also performed functions that enable farmers to manage their mesqas more effectively. These functions include establish the WUA and running them, improving water delivery on the mesqa level, and above all operating and maintaining the improved mesqas.

The overall conclusions that can be drawn from the whole study are divided into positive and negative impacts of the WUAs as follows:

Positive aspects related to WUAs

WUAs reducted the conflicts among farmers and reducted the irrigation costs; WUAs were successful in improving the public environmental awareness.

Negative aspects related to WUAs In some areas, farmers have to use their own pumps due to all the breakdown of the

associations’ pump which need regular operation and maintenance; In other cases, the farmers have their own irrigation pumps, which they prefer to use because

of the lower running costs.

Regarding the sustainability of the association, technical and managerial actions should be followed to avoid break down of these associations due to high costs of replacing the old pumps. To this regard, the following actions are recommended:

- The establishment by WUA’s board of a reserve fund or financial support box to avoid the problem of breakdown or stealing of WUA’s irrigation pumps or other emergency matters.

- The provision of a receipt for the fees paid to the WUA, to certify both the payment to the WUA account and the share of the costs paid for operation and maintenance. This will create trust between beneficiaries and the WUAs’.



A STRATEGIC LONG-TERM WATER-BASED FOOD SECURITY MODEL FOR EGYPT


Total Project Budget: LE 573.000 (Euro 90,379) IDS Share: LE 200,000 (Euro 31,546)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 200,000 (Euro 31,546) Other Contributions: LE 373,000 (Euro 58,833)

Location: National Project Duration: 1 year

Start Date: November 9, 2003 Completion Date: January 8, 2005

OBJECTIVE

This project tackles the future food security issue for Egypt for the year 2017. Its main aim was to conduct a study producing and providing decision makers with various alternatives to reduce the predicted food gap for the year 2017.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A study developed on two different approaches to reduce the food gap in Egypt: the first approach is based on linear programming as a modelling technique and the second is based on supply response analysis.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project focused on some strategic crops, such as wheat, maize, rice, beans and lentils. Using the planned approaches, three alternatives were proposed to reduce the food gap. The first one aims at maximizing net profit of crops, the second at maximizing net return of water requirements and the third at minimizing irrigation water requirements.

PROJECT IMPACT

The main outcome of this project is the contribution given to the decision makers in drawing agriculture sustainable policies to be adopted and in achieving a national food security, based on the efficient utilization of the various resources such as water, land and labour.

Improving irrigation practices is

essential to achieve food security



INTEGRATING COMMUNITY-BASED WASTE MANAGEMENT INTO

INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTING

Project Code: IDS/32 Applicant and Implementing Agency: International Centre for Environment and Development

Total Project Budget: LE 2,116,000 (Euro 333,754) IDS Share: LE 1,916,000 (Euro 302,208)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 1,914,495 (Euro 301,971) Other Contributions: LE 200,000 (Euro 31,546)

Location: Gov. Cairo Project Duration: 3 years

Start Date: September 10, 2003 Completion Date: October 31, 2006

OBJECTIVE

The project tackles the problem of the risk of progressive loss of work for the informal traditional community of garbage collectors (zabaleen), due to the new municipal solid waste management introduced in Cairo, which is based on collection out-sourced to multinational companies. The introduction of the new system may also affect the possibility of recycling waste, a task that is not carried out by multinational companies while zabaleen, on the contrary, are deeply involved in trading or using as animal feeding some components of waste.

The main objective of the project is to support zabaleen in integrating into the new process of international contracting by improving their technical capabilities and providing them with modern technologies. The project is implemented in 3 settlements of zabaleen in Cairo: Mokattam, Ezbet El Nakhl and Motamadeya.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A programme of collection of waste segregated at source implemented. Business and legal information available for the formalization of the economic activities of

zabaleen. Technological upgrading of selected waste recycling workshops.

Recycling workshops



ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in October 2006. Its main intervention was to experiment two possible strategies to avoid loss of job for the community of zabaleen and to integrate them in the new waste management system in Cairo.

The first strategy was focused on facilitating the direct recruitment of the zabaleen by the multinational companies, by upgrading their technical capacity. To this regard, the project concluded and agreement with one of the multinational companies that is now responsible for garbage collection in Cairo, AMA Arab Environment Company (AAEC), the Egyptian subsidiary of the Italian company AMA, to implement a pilot experiment of waste collection based on segregation at source. 15 zabaleen from Ezbet El Nakhl worked under the supervision of AAEC in the district of El Zawia El Hamra to carry out the segregated waste collection for approximately 7,300 households. 30 young people were also involved, in cooperation with the Egyptian NGO Spirit of Youth, to promote awareness among households on the new system of collection and they distributed baskets to households for different types of waste.

The second strategy experimented by the project, was focused on promoting the specialization of zabaleen on the recycling sector, rather than on collection since, in this way, the zabaleen could obtain business opportunities from trade of recyclable waste. In order to guarantee the success, the project realized that two main types of intervention were necessary: on one side, to disseminate business and legal information in order to promote the formalization of the economic activities of the zabaleen in small registered companies and, on the other side, to establish a credit facilitation to support the upgrading of recycling workshops.

Consequently, several training and awareness sessions were held for the zabaleen on legal aspects of formalization and several business information were provided to them, such as identification of possible dealers, partners, potential markets, etc. In addition, the project gave full technical support to the establishment and registration of a small cooperative of 50 zabaleen, in which each member contributed with a small share of LE 50.

PROJECT IMPACT

Following the example set forth by the project, more than 300 zabaleen have been hired by AAEC, in all the 8 districts of Cairo North, mainly as subcontractor for the door-to-door collection. As a result of this positive experience the zabaleen are now part of the AAEC business model both in Cairo North and Cairo West districts in the Solid Waste Management cycle.

Concerning the credit line it was based on a mixed mechanism of cost-sharing and revolving fund: the total cost of a machine was paid by the project in advance and the beneficiary had to refund back, without interests, 50% of the total cost. The project, at the end of its activities, found that, as a result of the upgrading process, more than 270 new jobs, linked - directly or indirectly - to the operation of machines, were created.

Recycling workshops



HIV/AIDS PREVENTION AND CONTROL IN EGYPT


Total Project Budget: LE 2,165,675 (Euro 341,589) Project Expenditure at October 2007: LE 1,394,973 (Euro 220,027) Location: Gov. Kafr El Sheikh, Sharqeya, Beni Suef, Fayum, Asyut

Project Duration: 4 years Start Date: February 1, 2004


OBJECTIVE

Egypt remains a country with a relatively low prevalence of HIV infections. Yet, there is growing evidence of the increase of infections among social groups with risky behaviour, which might entail the spreading of an epidemic if preventive measures are not taken. The task is even more difficult when it is considered that risky behaviour is highly socially stigmatized and, hence, driven underground.

Within this framework, the project aims at maintaining the transmission of HIV in Egypt at a low level, supporting the National AIDS Control Programme, which is based on the

establishment of a network of Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) centres. Since these centres provide their services on anonymous basis, they can attract the confidence of people with risky behaviour and distribute information about preventive measures more easily.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Five new Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) centres established in Sharqeya, Beni Suef, Kafr El Sheikh, Fayum and Asyut.

Awareness about HIV among youth population, people with risky behaviour and community leaders increased.

Quality of life among people infected by HIV improved.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in March 2008. The establishment of the five VCT centres was completed. The centres were furnished and equipped and all staff was trained in counselling and laboratory investigations (rapid tests). According to preliminary data, already 936 people have visited the VCT centres for counselling, of whom 863 have gone on to be tested. Services

Awareness material within the VCT centre



provided are free but the MOHP is studying the possibility of introducing an affordable price, between LE 5 and 10, in order to assure sustainability. At the same time, the MOHP is working to promote the services provided by the VCT centres, which is not an easy task, considering social stigmatization.

In order to increase awareness on prevention, several posters and booklets have been prepared and distributed among young people and workshops have been held in youth centres, schools, universities and NGO. At the same time, other awareness meetings have been held for workers of the tourist and factory sector, as well as for community leaders.

Finally, thanks to the support of the project, anti retro viral medications were purchased and provided to infected people.

PROJECT IMPACT

A special mention has to be made to this project since the social impact of such a delicate issue to be addressed in an Arab country is remarkable. Egypt in addressing this issue openly through the MOHP and in establishing five VCT centres demonstrated to be at the front of countries ready and mature to develop projects in the most controversial fields of modern societies.

The anonymous and unlinked testing of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C is a demonstration of a successful prevention campaign, which in many countries would have caused time consuming and fruitless debates. The impact of the project does not solely lies in the almost 1000 persons who visited the VCT centres, but also in the fact that the environment in which this project was made possible and managed, with enormous efforts by the promoters, make it a success.

Anonymous and unlinked testing was the key factor to be able to attract people at risk and the establishment of support groups for counselling was a key issue to address professionally unfortunate people who got into one of the stages of the infection.

As far as the social point of view is concerned, the impact is therefore remarkable and it is up to the Egyptian Government and donors to make it sustainable. The disease is widespread and we all should keep on discussing ways to prevent it and cure it, but it is easier to talk for most of us to support a leprosarium then to establish community services to cure HIV/AIDS patients.

Street sign for the VCT centre



BRACKISH WATER DESALINATION FOR URBANIZATION OF REMOTE ARID AREAS IN EGYPT

Project Code: IDS/34 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Alexandria University Desalination Studies and

Technology Centre Total Project Budget: LE 5,483,840 (Euro 864,959)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 5,244,252 (Euro 827,169) Location: Gov. Alexandria Project Duration: 3,5 years

Start Date: July 27, 2004 Completion Date: January 31, 2008

OBJECTIVE

The lack of potable water as a major obstacle in urbanization of remote arid areas in Egypt is the problem that this project seeks to solve.

Since brackish water from underground wells is the only available water resource in several of these remote areas, the project aims at creating new fresh potable water resources, in conformity to the World Health Organization quality standards, through the development of adapted and viable brackish water desalination packages.

The project is implemented as a pilot intervention on the North-West coast of Egypt (West of Alexandria).

EXPECTED RESULTS

A data base with all relevant information on project location developed. Two mobile pilot desalination plants established. National desalination know-how and capacity developed.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

In the first phase of implementation, the project conducted several field visits to select the area for establishing the pilot desalination plants.

The selected sites are Fuka and Sawani Samalous, 25 km south of Dabaa. Water samples were collected and tests implemented, in cooperation with the MWRI.

Selected site for implementation



All relevant information and analyses were included in a database established at the Faculty of Engineering of Alexandria University, comprising information on water desalination in Egypt and in arid areas of similar circumstances.

During the second phase of the project the design and engineering of two plants pre-treatment systems were accomplished, using the reverse osmosis technology, since it was judged as the most technically and economically suitable to the project area. The development of viable desalination packages easy to run, and simple to maintain have been very useful for small communities in remote locations.

Moreover, a successful training program for engineers/designer/researchers/operators of desalination plants was designed and implemented and building and operating the plant initiated a know-how centre at Alexandria University, for developing tailor-made designers to solve water supply problems at any location in Egypt.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project increased the number of people in urban community having access to potable water by about 7500, based on per capita share of 20 litres of drinking water/day/ person.

Regarding the sustainability of the initiative, a protocol of cooperation between Alexandria University and the Governorate of Matrouh has been submitted to the Governor in order to ensure the sustainable operation of the two plants.

Furthermore, the project followed an important strategy of professional and technical skills development, based on the promotion of a national expertise and capacity in the field of desalination, which could become also a model for the Middle East area.

To this regard, the project played particular attention to develop young human resources. Indeed, a group of 16 young graduate engineers was trained by the project on a desalination course of studies, which was implemented in Egypt for the first time. The 16 graduates constitute now a task-force that is also giving an important contribution in terms of national research in the field of desalination.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the project trainees has presented some technical papers to the International Conference on Desalination Technologies and Water Reuse that was held in Sharm El Sheikh in May 2006 and to ADST edition 2007 and 2008.

Well design



SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT HEALTH PROGRAMMES FOR

WORKING CHILDREN IN 3 GOVERNORATES THROUGH PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LEVEL



Location: Gov. Cairo, Menufeya, Asyut Project Duration: 2,5 years Start Date: January 26, 2004

Completion Date: October 31, 2006

OBJECTIVE

The project aims at promoting measures for improving the health of working children following the approach of Primary Health Care (PHC) recommended by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization. This objective will be achieved by enhancing capacity of the MOHP to provide health assistance for working children.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Occupational health units in the target area renovated.

Human resources of target occupational health units upgraded on medical care for working children.

The system of health assistance for working children is enhanced.

Main risks in work places reduced.

A data base on working children and working conditions is established.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in October 2006. 10 clinics in the project location were improved through physical rehabilitation and supply of necessary medical equipment. In addition, capacity of health staff on the issue of child labour has been strengthened through training sessions for 320 sanitarians, 900 physicians and 880 nurses.

In order to enhance the system of health assistance provided to working children, attendance health cards for 5000 children were produced, interviews and medical examinations of 3000 children were implemented. 63% of children examined was found sick and was medically treated.

Working children during medical examinations



More awareness has been achieved on how to reduce risk factors for the health of working children in the work places, by assessing 1950 workplaces and identifying appropriate correction measures that should be adopted and by implementing seminars for 540 employers and 540 NGO about safety measures at work.

Finally, a database was established at the MOHP with all the information and analyses collected during evaluation of workplaces, interviews and medical examinations of working children. This data base is extremely important for the support of any future national policy and intervention addressed to working children.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project, promoted within the national development efforts with the slogans “Health for all by year 2010” and “Healthy Egyptian”, has enhanced as a whole the awareness on the issue. Implicitly the strengthening of the knowledge of the problem itself, through the development of an active database, has to be considered as an important input to local and national decision makers. Linkages among relevant actors have been strengthened thus enhancing policy co-ordination towards a more efficient logic of intervention.

Moreover, the sustainability of the project is given by the improved skills of PHC cadres. The trainings carried out indeed aimed to strengthen also the management and supervising abilities of staff concerned of working children’s health conditions.

Meanwhile the project played an active role at the grassroots level, widening the community awareness to the issue, through targeted mobilization campaigns. This project output has enhanced employers’ behaviour and, indirectly, has involved community leaders ensuring their support to the project proposals.

In conclusion, families of children receiving attendance health cards considered themselves as part of the entire health system, spreading hence their advocacy to such an important issue. The success of the project as a pilot intervention paved also the way to future commitments in other governorates.

Working children during medical examinations



RURAL DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION NETWORK (RADCON)

Project Code: IDS/36 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations Total Project Budget: LE 10,266,000 (Euro 1,619,243)

IDS Share: LE 9,240,000 (Euro 1,457,413) Project Expenditure at September 2007: LE 7,764,232 (Euro 1,224,642)

Other Contributions: LE 1,026,000 (Euro 161,830) Location: National



OBJECTIVE

The project is an extension of the successful pilot project (VERCON) undertaken by the Egyptian MALR with the support of the FAO in 2000, which tried to provide agricultural advisory and extension services to the rural population through the creation of a web site and by promoting linkages among institutions, universities, research centres, NGOs and rural communities. Its main objective is to make farm families benefit from an information system that will allow them to improve their quality of life and their performance in the agricultural production.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A sustainable information and communication system on agriculture developed.

Fifty communities participate in the activities related to the information system;

An innovative media communication programme developed to promote the services of the system.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The development of the information system is completed. Its management structure was established in the framework of the MALR and it was linked to a network for research and extension. This network includes: 8 Research Institutes, 8 Regional Research Stations, 31 Specific Research Stations, 3 Central Administrations, 12 Agricultural Directorates, 96 Extension Centres, 7 Universities and 3 NGOs. 490 trainees, selected from the operators of the extension centres, have participated in courses on the use and management of the system and on modern information technologies. In order to develop the content of the system, an information needs assessment study was implemented. As a result of the study, 5 modules were embedded in the content of

Poster advertising RADCON services



RADCON, namely: small projects for youth, rural women related activities, environment, marketing and NGO. A business plan for the sustainability of the system has almost been finalized.

The project tested the system and the transmission of its information to a pilot group of beneficiaries among 50 selected rural communities from the most vulnerable areas of the country. To this regard, the project developed a communication plan and started a training programme for 115 facilitators in the selected villages, who will be responsible for transmitting information from RADCON to final beneficiaries.

In order to transmit information to beneficiaries, the project also developed contents to be broadcasted on TV and radio programmes. Some programmes have already been broadcasted and they concerned mainly recommendations on agricultural practices and livestock production.

PROJECT IMPACT

The present project is a follow-up and an extension to national level of the successful pilot project "Virtual Extension and Research Communication Network" (VERCON) that was implemented by the MoALR at the Kafr el Sheikh Governorate. It aims to establish or to improve the communication between extension, research and private and public persons and institutions involved in rural and agricultural development for the benefit of farmers and agrarian businesses at rural and village level.

Improved communication, incorporating newest research results and latest technologies have ultimately improved the performance of farmers and businesses, increased income of the poorer and landless village population. Through better communication researchers has focused better on the needs of the rural population, and this extension has been in the position to transfer the latest development packages to the ultimate target group, that now has access to relevant information which help solving acute and pertinent farm problems.

As the project has tackled an issue that is almost unknown by the beneficiaries, special attention has been given on the evaluation and monitoring phase that is still on-going. A participatory approached has been adopted with continuous and effective contact with the targeted communities, requiring them active feedback and suggestions.

The project is also working in cooperation with the Project IDS/10 (Information and Communication Technologies to Foster Egypt’s Sustainable Human Development), with the final objective of supporting the establishment of a sub-portal specialized in agriculture under Kenana Online. In addition, the Project IDS/10 will offer its ICT Mobile Units to support transmission of information from RADCON to beneficiaries in the villages.



TRACEABILITY OF AGRO-INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS FOR THE EUROPEAN MARKET

Project Code: IDS/37 Applicant: Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry

Implementing Agency: United Nations Industrial Development Organization/ Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry

Total Project Budget: LE 45,672,060 (Euro 7,203,795) Project Expenditure at June 2008: LE 33,563,545 (Euro 5,293,935)

Location: National Project Duration: 4 years Start Date: July 1, 2004


OBJECTIVE

The project aims at supporting and facilitating Egyptian exports of agro-industrial products to Europe. In particular, it will help exporters to comply with the European Community Regulation n.178/2002 on food safety and circulation, which rules traceability requirements of imported food. In this way, the project will enhance competitiveness, product quality and safety and it will lead the way for the Egyptian agro-industrial sector to stand at forefront of global economy.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A national expertise, encompassing the private and public sector, on the issue of traceability, food safety and quality management, under internationally recognized regulations, is built.

Data on traceability of products are collected and made available to stakeholders. Modern traceability systems are adopted by selected companies, through a financial support

scheme.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project is structured around two main components: technical assistance and financial assistance. For the technical assistance activities, the responsible agency is the UNIDO, while for the financial assistance the responsible agency is the MOTI.

In relation to the technical assistance, the project is building capacity not only for private companies but also for the public sector, namely the MOTI and the MALR, in order to increase



the effectiveness of trade policies and extension services. Last training conducted by the project were focused on UPEHC (Union of Producers and exporters of horticultural crops) staff. One of the first results achieved by the project was the creation of a Traceability Manual, which provides accurate information on how to trace comprehensively the history of the product throughout the supply chain. Several training sessions have been implemented in order to raise awareness of beneficiaries on the concept of traceability, make them familiar with the Manual and assess their existing traceability systems. So far, more than 60 companies have been involved in the technical assistance activities of the project, as well as several officers from the MOTI, the MARL and the project IDS/53 (Green Corridor Pilot Project).

With the assistance of UNIDO Senior Consultant, Etrace is establishing an e-learning platform containing a pilot training program on traceability, with the adoption of an open source software called MOODLE adequately customized and then published.

Within the technical assistance, the project started to include also aspects related to food quality and safety. In this light, it has so far assisted 60 companies in the implementation of Quality and Food Safety management system and in the certification against different international standards including ISO, BRC, GLOBAL GAB and others. This component has been implemented in cooperation with the Industrial Modernization Centre that requested from UNIDO o take over this activity from its service portfolio.

In addition, the project finalized the preliminary design of a training programme addressed to the Egyptian Plant Quarantine Department of the MOTI. The objective is to support the upgrading of the quarantine experts of the MOTI, in line with recognized international practices and food safety requirements.

In order to enhance confidence in the Egyptian produce at international level, the project is also working to make available to any potential stakeholders all data concerning traceability and quality of products. To this regard, the project conducted a study related to a group of key exported products and provided, for the first time in Egypt, a comprehensive mapping of existing growers and pack houses for those products. Based on this study, the project is working on the prototype of a “traceability map”, providing basic information on the production areas related to specific products. Moreover, the project is working in cooperation with the MALR to upgrade the National Pesticide Database and make it available online. The database will include all information on nationally registered pesticides. A contract was also signed with HOMOLOGA, an international pesticide database, in order to provide accounts to beneficiaries, who will have access to information on pesticides produced in several countries involved in the international trade of agricultural products.

In relation to the financial assistance, the project is supporting some selected companies to apply modern IT traceability systems through a fund of LE 27,600,000. The financial assistance is implemented on a cost-sharing basis: 15% of the contract value of the IT traceability system will be paid directly by each beneficiary, while the project will contribute to finance the remaining 85% of the contract value, but for a maximum limit of LE 300,000. Beneficiaries are selected mainly among those companies that participated in the training programme of the project. They receive

Traceability exercise



full technical assistance during the application phase and transfer of instalments is subject to technical monitoring and evaluation. Up to 2007, more than 60 applications have been approved and started implementation. Discussions are under way with the project IDS/01 (West Noubaria Rural Development Project) in order to allow the pack house in Noubaria to benefit from the financial assistance.

All the opportunities provided by the project are actively promoted, both at national and international level, through the project website (www.etrace-eg.org), articles and interviews in Egyptian (e.g. Egypt Today, Al Ahram) and international (e.g. Euro-Fruit Magazine) magazines and newspapers, brochures and flyers, interviews in Egyptian TV and radio programmes (e.g. Good Morning Egypt, Al Bernamig Al Amm), local and international fairs and conferences (e.g. Fruit Logistica, Arab Quality and Food Safety Conference in Lebanon, annual conference of the African Regional Standards Organization, round-table in Rome organized by UNIDO and the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs on “Trade and sustainable development to fight poverty”). Many of the participations in the international conferences aim at promoting and sharing the Egyptian traceability experience and model in the Mediterranean area.

The project got a 6 months extension till end of 2008, to finalize some pending activities and to extend the technical assistance to farmer associations located in Upper Egypt.

PROJECT IMPACT

Etrace project has provided all the operators of the agro-industrial sector with the necessary requirements and information to align the Egyptian horticultural production and system with international standards. Traceability allows importer, consumers and above all authorities to trace all steps taken during the preparation and distribution of food products, particularly in the case of health emergencies, thus functioning as a risk management system that ensures transparency, improves supply chain management and allows smooth and cost-effective exchanges of information.

Very important is also the efforts to support the Governmental stakeholders as for example GOEIC (General organization for export and import control) which has been assisted technically and financially for the implementation of a National Traceability System and a general e-learning platform on traceability. The collaboration with MALR, and in particular with the Agricultural Pesticides Committee, has also lead to the creation of a National Pesticide database and to the upgrading of the Egyptian Plant Quarantine.

The financial assistance, managed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, allows applicants to have a grant up to EGP 300,000 and aims at acquiring new technologies, upgrading the existing one and introducing traceability software and hardware to comply with standards, regulations and market demand. Finally, 87 applications were approved and 82 contracts with suppliers have already been signed, with a disbursement totaling to EGP 29 million.

Regarding the sustainability of the project, it is worth to mention that Egyptian team of experts as an alternative to long-term international experts has implemented Etrace. This serves to increase the cosy-efficiency of the project activities in addition to the strong adaptability of the interventions to the local context. UNIDO staff support the local team and experts who provide remote management, update information and best practices.



STREET CHILDREN PROTECTION

Project Code: IDS/38 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Tofulty Foundation

Total Project Budget: LE 4,648,652 (Euro 734,000) Project Expenditure at Decmber 2007: LE 4,042,542 (Euro 637,625)

Location: District of Helwan (Gov. Cairo) Project Duration: 4,5 years Start Date: January 1, 2004


OBJECTIVE

Tofulty Foundation is a Non-Governmental Organization which works in the field of street children since 1998, in the district of Helwan, southern Cairo.

The project, through a right-based approach, aims to help young people to come off of the streets and to find their own way to be reintegrated in the society.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A database on street children in Helwan created;

A safe feeding and sleeping place available;

Health and psychological support available;

Basic education, legal assistance, vocational training and other free social services available;

Opportunities of safe and sustainable micro business activities available;

Institutions, families and local community awareness on street children problems increased;

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The beneficiaries of this project are approximately 500 children and their families of Helwan area. The Project through its network of social workers is constantly working on the field to detect children living in the streets and building a relation of mutual understanding and trust, encouraging them to join project activities.

To this aim, the Project has established an itinerant Mobile Unit so to be able to physically reach boys and girls living in the streets and attract them with creative recreational opportunities in order

Recreational activities



to take them out of their oppressive daily environment and encourage positive and constructive attitudes.

Children detected and attracted through the Mobile Unit (Caravan) are then invited the join the Drop-in Centre, an open space which children can freely access in any moment of the day even if, at night, they will prefer going back to the streets. The Centre serves as a shelter where children can feel safe and protected and find the opportunity to live as children of their age: in fact, the centre offers recreational activities such as sports, games, music, painting and other activities in order to encourage their creativity, sociability and explore their potential.

At the same time the Drop-in Centre represents a comfortable structure of primary assistance for street children in their path to rehabilitation: children are in

fact provided with health and psychological support in order to understand their peculiarities and help them in accepting and acknowledging their situation and their need to be helped.

The children who reach this stage are then invited to leave the streets by accessing the temporary home component, which offers them free accommodation, food, health care, etc.

The main aim of this phase is working on retracing the family and verifying the possibility of finding a solution for children to return home within their own families, re-enrol school, etc. Social workers are fundamental in this phase since they work with both parts, trying to help families to understand how to deal and communicate with their children.

Whereas not possible, the Project encourages and helps children to build up their own life by providing them with a permanent accommodation in shared apartments, counselling services, educational courses such as literacy or vocational training courses (carpet weaving, sewing, electrics, carpentry, etc), legal assistance for the issue of identity cards and birth certificates, small credit to help them to start their own business, etc.

Within the framework of the project direct accommodation assistance had been given to 190 Street children (120 boys and 70 girls). Whereof a tiny portion of them returned to their families, Tofulty offered health care to more than 2,600 cases among children and their families.

The Project has also launched an advocacy campaign by organizing workshops, publishing brochures and newsletters in order to raise the public awareness on the plight of street children and reducing the hostility towards them. Moreover, taking into consideration that the phenomenon of street children in Egypt is usually associated with delinquency, the project introduces also activities of training and raising the awareness of the police in some outskirts of Cairo as in the case of the Juvenile Police Station of Azbakeyya. Tofulty program at the Azbakeya concerned two main objective: the health care and legal aid, plus nutrition and entertainment for the vagabond children at the police centre 3,500 children had been assisted within this program.

Vocational training on carpentry



PROJECT IMPACT

Tofulty initiative boasts the strengthening of the grassroots social network for the prevention of the phenomenon of Street Children. The sum of these capillary actions had been so far worth to achieve considerable results. Through a proactive commitment to this path, the issue of street children is constantly pushing up in the public policy agenda. Institutional cooperation has been so far considerable strengthened, the collaboration of the Helwan Governorate became a reality, and the Ministry of Justice gave for the first time the authorization to an NGO to integrate the activity of a police station. Inside Azbekiya indeed Tofulty has a very active role helping the children on the one hand, and sensitizing the police staff on the other.

The good trend of Tofulty policy had been taken into consideration and thanks to the partnership of ASHOKA and UNESCO, social intervention are now ready to be launched in the district area of Giza.

In the area of Helwan Tofulty and its Mobile Unit, created by the project itself, together with a real presence in the field, represent a strong landmark for the whole community. The level of the care to the issue of street children by the local population is actually considerably raised up.

In conclusion, Tofulty had given adequate consideration to the institutional and social awareness campaign. On the media level, through the TV program “It is your time to live”, and participating to 58 conferences and 27 media coverage on the Street children issue.



ROBAIKI INDUSTRIAL LEATHER AND TANNERIES CITY

Project Code: IDS/39 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Ministry of Trade and Industry


Project Expenditure at April 2008: LE 122,619,391 (Euro 19,340,598) Other Contributions: LE 150,120,000 (Euro 23,678,233)

Location: Robaiki (Gov. Cairo) Project Duration: 4 years

Start Date: November 1, 2004 Expected Completion Date1: December 31, 2008

OBJECTIVE

The project is part of a wider plan launched by the Egyptian Government for the creation of a new industrial leather cluster in Robaiki area (at some 51 km from Cairo, on the road to Suez). The new cluster will be based over a surface of approximately 2.2 millions m² and will be characterized by modern systems of production and environmentally friendly technologies. Roundabout 320 small, medium and large private tanneries will be relocated from the existing cluster in Old Cairo to this new area.

The objective is, on one side, the elimination of one of the major sources of

pollution inside Old Cairo and, on the other side, the reorganization of leather enterprises within the new Leather Industrial Park to encourage and support production in a marketable and competitive way, both at local and international level.

The plan for the Robaiki Leather City consists of three stages. The contribution of the IEDS is focused mainly on Stage 1, during which all the external and internal infrastructures will be established and the social and economical needs and effects of the relocation will be assessed, through a participative approach involving tanners.

1 The completion of the project activities, namely the construction of the Common Effluent Treatment Plant in order to make the district fully operational, will be funded through the contribution coming from the residual funds of the first IEDS and the new allocation from the second IEDS. Therefore, the project duration will be extended accordingly.

Civil works at Robaiki



EXPECTED RESULTS

An updated Master Plan for the new industrial leather cluster formulated. Civil works for external and internal infrastructures and the sewage and industrial treatment

plants executed and operation is assured. A Participative Plan for the gradual transfer of Old Cairo tanneries developed and agreed upon

by tanners. Tanners willing to transfer their activity in the new cluster identified. A Technological Services Centre established in the new industrial cluster.

PROGRESS AT DECEMBER 2008

In order to achieve its objectives, the project has developed a strategy, which is based on:

a development approach that links together the economical and social components, taking into consideration not only aspects to improve production but also the quality of life of the beneficiaries that will settle in the new area;

mechanisms to support relocation, such as financial incentives to purchase new machinery;

a demand-driven approach for relocation, aiming to satisfy the actual needs of all stakeholders involved;

cooperation and twinning with Italian clusters, such as the ones in the regions Campania and Toscana, in order to transfer Italian know-how and build upon the successful experience of the Italian model for industrial clusters.

In the framework of this strategy, the project has started the implementation of a plan of action. The plan aims at creating a modern leather and tanning cluster and focused on: a) building of the external and internal infrastructures; b) establishment of an Ownership Management Company that will manage the industrial cluster; c) relocation of the existing tanneries based in Old Cairo (Magra El Eion) to Robaiki.

In relation to the external and internal infrastructures of the new cluster, the project is currently executing the civil works for the networks, the electric, water and gas supply. The tenders were awarded to four companies: Arab Contractors, Rural Electrification Authority, Egyptian Natural Gases Company and New Urban Communities Authority. As regards the Waste Water Treatment Plant, the construction has been divided into two parts: a lifting station and a common effluent plant (CETP), for the main reason of financial gap. The tender for the lifting station has been launched and awarded with the last tranche of IDS financing.

Concerning the Ownership Management Company, a legal and administrative framework has been finalized and, last September, a MoU has been signed between the Ministry of Industry and the Cairo Governorate.

Civil works at Robaiki



Since the beginning of the project, the relocation process has benefited of the cooperation with the Italian system. The technical assistance provided by ASSOMAC, the association of the Italian manufacturers of equipment and technologies for the shoe, leather and tannery industries, allowed to complete a feasibility study to evaluate all the technical, economical and social consequences of the relocation of the involved tanneries and related population from Old Cairo to Robaiki area. The study was conducted with the active participation of all targeted tanners, analyzing the financial and social sustainability of the whole operation. Based on the feasibility study, programs supporting not only the workers, but also their families and all the people involved in the productive system, have been studied in the field of training, funding packages, housing and transportation.

Moreover, cooperation agreements have been designed with the Italian districts of Santa Croce, Arzignano, and Solofra. Another important institution has been recently involved in the Robaiki Leather City, i.e Bank of Alex – Intesa San Paolo, which has put at disposal of the new cluster development its financial expertise and will promote new industrial investments of Italian companies in Egypt.

PROJECT IMPACT

The complexity of the project, i.e. the peculiarities of its components (dealing with different issues: infrastructural, legal, social, productive and industrial) as well as the number of the stakeholders involved (Ministries, Governorates, Banking Sector, Chambers of Commerce and small sized tanneries) make hard an overall measurement of impact.

From an institutional perspective, the project idea and its implementation strategy completely resulted in line with governmental priorities and fully respondent, both in the idea of establishing an industrial cluster and in its specific component of relocation, to the urgency of complying with environmental standards in the current production system, increasing the production of tanned skins and coping with the social emergency of tanneries in Magra El Eion.

Concerning the effects of the project, it has to be said that the entire fulfilment of its objectives and expected results has been partially prevented by the non-completion of the planned civil works, namely the construction of the CETP in the area corresponding to Stage 1. From one side, the original feasibility study and cost estimation, carried out at the beginning of the project, needed to be updated and re-tailored to the effective requirements of the industrial area. From the other side, the lack of financing available, which had been absorbed by other infrastructural interventions, hampered to cover the total cost of CETP and, in consequence, to launch the corresponding tender.

Despite the abovementioned critical issue, the project positively impacted on the civil society, i.e. the direct beneficiaries of the relocation. The survey carried out on the tanneries of Magra El Eion was aimed not only at designing appropriate relocation strategies and supporting programs, but also at raising awareness on the benefits of the relocation, from an economic and social point of view. Therefore, the approach to relocation remained voluntary based and demand driven, whereas the main achievement has been the enlargement of the basis of consensus about its execution.

The project has also guided a process of private sector development. Even though the expected benefits, in terms of productivity and production processes, coming from the relocation to the Robaiki area and the set up of new industrial technologies, have not been generated yet – since relocation is still on going – the partnerships already established with the Italian system and the



running of the Technology Center in Magra El Eion contributed to upgrade local production and technical know-how.

In conclusion, the expected completion of the first phase of the project, namely, the construction of the CETP in order to make the district area fully operational, through the contribution coming from the residual funds of the first IEDS and the new allocation from the second IEDS, will allow to free all the potential of the initiative in terms of industrial competitiveness, productive partnerships and, ultimately, economic growth and social development.



EMPOWERMENT OF FEMALE-HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD IN LOW - INCOME COMMUNITIES

Project Code: IDS/40 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Association for Development and Enhancement of Women

Total Project Cost: LE 9,430,550 (Euro 1,488,000) Project Final Expenditure: LE 7,137,197 (Euro 1,125,741)

Location: Gov. Cairo, Gharbeya, Qalyubeya. Project Duration: 4,5 years

Start Date: December 8, 2003 Completion Date: March 31, 2008

OBJECTIVE

The Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women is an Egyptian NGO which works for the development of women status on local and national level.

This Project, in particular, aims to improve the social, economic, and legal conditions of women in low-income communities by promoting widespread sensitization to the plight, especially of Female Heads of Household (FHHs) and providing opportunities for these women to increase their income, enhance their knowledge and skills and eventually gain control over their lives.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Women’s knowledge and awareness of their legal rights increased; About 7,000 women benefited from the micro credit program and are trained in microfinance

and business practices; About 14,000 legal documents obtained for women; About 500 women learnt to read and write participating in literacy courses; About 900 teenagers’ girls participated in the Girls’ Dreams Program

ACHIEVED RESULTS Project activities targeted three deprived areas in the Governorates of Cairo, Qalyubeya and Gharbeya, respectively Manshiet Nasser (Cairo), El Qanater El Kheireya (Qaliubeya) and El Agezi (Tanta) by designing a comprehensive package of services for the enhancement of the economic, legal and social status of FHHs. Micro-credit Program

Literacy class in Qaliubeya Governorate



The project designed and established a micro credit program to finance the creation of micro enterprises involved in production (i.e. hand craft productions), commerce or services. The program was based on group lending methodology, through which loans are provided to self-forming groups of five women thereby freeing them from the need of collateral or guarantor and allowing women to get loans only by signing a receipt, which is legally and individually binding.

In Cairo, 3393 applications were collected and 5067 loans disbursed to 2815 beneficiaries, for a total amount of LE 1,638,600.

In Qalyubeya and Gharbeya 6990 applications were collected and 6055 loans disbursed to 3363 beneficiaries, for a total amount of LE 675,800.

Legal Program

Since marginalized women do not legally exist and, in addition to poverty and prevailing ignorance, they are totally dependent on their male realtives for any legal transaction, the Project established a Legal Program in order to: i) assist women in obtaining their legal documents, ii) raising the awareness about the legal issue; iii) filing lawsuits relating to women’s personal status law on their behalf.

In Cairo, the Project increased the awareness of 2890 women through 144 legal awareness sessions; issued 6911 ID cards, 2204 birth certificates, and other legal papers; filed 97 lawsuits.

In Qalyubeya and Gharbeya, the Project increased the awareness of 5295 women through 245 legal awareness seminars; issued 11,909 ID cards, 6738 birth certificates and 89 other legal papers (42 women obtained marriage/divorce certificate; 45 death certificate; 2 family registration); filed 78 lawsuits in Qalyubeya and 130 lawsuits in Gharbeya.

Literacy Program

Since illiteracy represents one of the main factors, which hinder the advancement of women, particularly among the underprivileged communities, the project established a literacy program. To help the attendance, it was based on lessons focusing on life skills, such as how to prepare nutritional goods (jam, pickled olives, cold cuts, etc.), lessons on beading and embroidery, which can help women to better manage the household or to build an income generating project.

In Cairo, the Project opened 15 classes and managed to raise literacy and life skills of 317 women, 230 of them passed the final exam and got the literacy diploma.

In Qalyubeya and Gharbeya the Project opened 34 classes and managed to raise literacy and life skills of 408 women.

Girls’ Dreams Program

The project established this program aiming primarily to increase confidence and self esteem of girls with limited or no education, mainly daughters of FHHs, by allowing them the opportunity and the tools to explore their capabilities and by teaching them how to better manage their lives, on the basis of three main aspects: i) life skills and personal relations, ii) health and nutrition, iii) legal rights of women and children.

Girls’ Dream Component



In Cairo 262 girls were selected with an average of 197 regular attendants;

In Qalyubeya 295 girls were selected with an average of 258 regular attendants;

In Gharbeya 255 girls were selected with an average of 190 regular attendants.

Awareness Component

The awareness about the situation and plight of FHH has been raised among policy and decision makers, media, public and other NGOs. A change in policy and practice has been also advocated, through: the issue of 3 magazine, 3 brochure, one flyer and one book; the production of 3 issues of ADEW’s newsletter that highlight women’s stories; production of two documentary-films (one of 20 min. one of 10 min.); publication of a book concerning FHHs’ situation.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project operated with a traditionally neglected and disempowered segment of Egyptian society, such as Female Heads of Household, enhancing the activities already ongoing in Manshiet Nasser and expanding them to two new areas: El Qanater El Kheireya (Qalyubeya) and El Agezi (Tanta). In this sense, the Project put on track a virtuous circle of development in the three unprivileged target areas and the change was even more evident in Qalubeya and Gharbeya Governorates where, before the project, no support at all had been given to FHHs.

Core of ADEW strategy was the economic empowerment of women through the establishment of a micro credit program aimed at helping FHH to start their own small business and therefore get their economic emancipation. The cycle written inside the ‘revolving fund’ logic managed to support the activation of a self-sustained economic network with other subsidiary activities, thus contributing to boost the income of the community as a whole. The success of the initiative can be measured in the almost absolute repayment of the disbursed loans (about 98%), and by the fact that the same beneficiaries are applying for new loans, meaning that their businesses are growing up. It has to be underlined that the group lending methodology adopted by the project further contributed to a higher accountability of the beneficiaries involved, enhancing women communal sense, supporting them in breaking their isolation from the community and strengthening the cohesiveness of the network as a whole.

Moreover, even if a deep change in such a sensitive field would require long-term period, the impact of the legal component has been very tangible for FHHs, who, through issuing their ID cards, finally came into legal existence and get well aware of their civil rights.

Through the Girls’ Dream component, the project had an incontestable impact on the life of almost thousand adolescent girls, dropped out of school, with no ambitions or daydreams at all about their future but simply too tired from work and too discouraged by their social exclusion to think about the future in a positive light. Self-esteem was raised up, and taboo topics such as FGM, health and hygiene deal now within the space of the Girl’s Dream program itself. Moreover, most of them either returned to school or joined literacy classes and obtained their ID cards thus establishing their legal existence.

ADEW also succeeded in sensitizing and alerting policy makers, media and society at large on the gender issue: for instance, in Qalyubeya, the Governor support for the establishment of a shelter for women victims of domestic violence. Even more important is the focus which has been given to FHHs in the Government five-year National Development Plan for the period 2007-2012.



NORTHERN CAIRO PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT


Implementing Partner: AMA Arab Company for Environment / Association for the Protection of Environment

Total Project Cost: LE 4,250,000 (Euro 671,000) Project Final Expenditure: LE 3,892,208 (Euro 613,913)

Location: Gov. Cairo Project Duration: 3 years Start Date: 15th May 2004


OBJECTIVE

The project intends to address the environmental problems that affect the Northern Cairo communities such as the random disposal of garbage which is accumulated in streets and public areas and o radically change behaviours and attitude of local communities by convincing them that environment is closely related to health and social problems.

For this reason, the Project, in order to have more impact on the communities, will approach and deal also with the social and health problems surrounding the environment of child and his family such as illiteracy, unemployment and women’s and children’s rights.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A social survey about the inhabitants of 7 districts of Northern Cairo available;

Students and teachers from 97 schools and local leaders trained on environmental awareness;

Community environmental guard groups established;

Educational material on environmental awareness prepared and distributed;

3000 women and girls able to read and write and aware of local environmental problems and related health issues.

ACHIEVED RESULTS The project successfully completed its activities in June 2007. Activities were organized in three main components:

Awareness poster produced by the Project



1. Survey phase, aimed at raising public awareness in neighbourhood communities of Northern Cairo on environmental development and health issues

A social survey was conducted on 7783 families from Northern Cairo’s seven districts, representing 10% of the inhabitants in order to investigate on human development, health status, socio economic status. The main problems identified in the area were the random disposal of garbage, street children, drug addiction, FGM, and the lack of basic information on reproductive health and safe pregnancy. Accordingly, 200 neighbourhood leaders were selected from religious institutions and from civil society and were trained in order to be able to create environmental, social and health awareness among the citizens of Northern Cairo; ad-hoc workshops were then conducted on the main problems identified through the survey.

2. Environmental guard phase, aimed at raising public awareness for environmental development in schools.

Training sessions were organized in cooperation with AMA for 160 teachers in 97 schools of Northern Cairo on how to create environmental, social and health awareness. To this aim, 14 Environmental camps were organized to train a total number 1944 students from different schools in the Northern Cairo Districts (primary-preparatory-secondary) to be environmental guards. During the camps, a special uniform was distributed to participating students, who were involved in environmental activities such as tree planting, cleaning up activities, paper recycling and in a number of artistic, cultural, sports and fun activities, which were carried out with the aim of developing the students’ artistic skills, their sense of team-spirit and positive competition. A green belt surrounding Northern Cairo with 1900 trees was completed. A “Green Corner” context was organized among 85 schools from six districts and 32 of them were rewarded with computers and school furniture while over 500 students obtained special certificates.

3. Female education phase, aimed at raising public awareness amongst women and girls on illiteracy eradication and its effect on the environment and general health issues

Cooperation between NCCM and the National Organization for Adult Learning was established and the Organization provided books and educational tools which were then adapted to be used in an active learning curriculum. 138 female facilitators were selected and trained on how to prepare material to facilitate the active learning process and how to transmit information through innovative and more attractive methods. Finally 98 literacy classes were established for almost 2000 women and girls who, at the end of the courses, were able to read and write and were informed and sensitized on environment and related social and health issues. As incentive for the literacy classes’ participants, a small credit program was set up in two of the seven target districts in order to encourage families to set up or expand their own business. The small loans were able to support their families, achieve financial independence and keep their children at school.

The initiative was managed through 2 small CDAs, which disbursed a total number of 1440 loans with a repayment rate close to 100%.

Youth Centre: environmental students’ camp



PROJECT IMPACT

The project had been written inside a new environmental governmental map, based on the reorganization of the garbage management through the modernization of the sector as a whole. Being the environmental issue a sector not easy to tackle with, the initiative had been worth to increase the attention of the involved agencies. Public awareness campaign is just a step further to the direction of a deeper consciousness of the environmental problem.

Starting from this point, awareness needs to be increased in order to make viable the intentions of a renewed environment perspective. Looking to this path, the Italian Cooperation sponsored a new intervention carried out by Italian NGO COSPE moving toward this regard. This new initiative, fuelled by the same AMA-Arab/APE, implicitly witnesses the good results of the present project, underlining the importance of the previous achievements.

The leadership of the NCCM, with its considerable political weight, facilitated the coordination with other governmental bodies such as the General Authority for Learning and Adult Education, which provided books and educational tools for the literacy component. On another front, the project had the advantage of having financial resources dedicated to the establishment of a micro-credit program for income generation purposes which performed satisfactorily by disbursing 1,440 loans, with almost full loan-repayment.

This served also as an incentive for beneficiaries to attend literacy classes, as well as the environmental and health awareness activities.

In conclusion an unmistakable impact lies in the fact that youths were empowered to become 'environment guards' in their communities. This ascertains the innovative nature of the project activities, that focusing on the youth means touch on the whole community.



REHABILITATION OF BEHEIRA WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

Project Code: IDS/42 Applicant: Beheira Governorate

Implementing Agency: Beheira Water and Drainage Company Total Project Budget: LE 50,000,000 (Euro 7,886,435)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 50,000,000 (Euro 7,886,435) Location: Damanhour (Gov. Beheira)



OBJECTIVE

The project aims at improving the supply system of potable water serving the population of the district of Damanhour (Beheira Governorate), both in the urban and rural areas.

The current network of pipes is indeed substantially old and has several leakages, which cause frequent cut-offs of the distribution and contamination of water. Damanhour including about 620,000 inhabitants (230,000 in the city and 390,000 in rural areas) and the project will seek to increase the average per capita water supply from the current 120-130 l/inhabitant per day to 200 l, in the urban areas and from 40-50 l to 100-120 l, in the rural areas. In addition, the project will work on capacity building, transfer of technology and know-how in order to increase efficiency of water

management.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A Master Plan for the rehabilitation of the whole water supply system in the district of Damanhour (urban and rural areas) formulated and available.

High priority works in the district identified. Priority areas of the urban water supply system in Damanhour rehabilitated. Capacity and knowledge of the staff of the BWADC increased.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

After the evaluation of the existing water supply network in Damanhour, the project developed the Master Plan, with the identification of the rehabilitation needs. The Master Plan is intended for

Civil works in Damanhour



carrying out a rehabilitation intervention in three stages, until 2022: from 2005 to 2008, from 2008 to 2012 and from 2012 to 2022.

The project successfully completed the rehabilitation of the eastern area of Damanhour, installing a new network of pipes with an extension of more than 85 km. Thanks to this pilot intervention, water arrives now to houses regularly and it is not contaminated. There are no more leakages and, consequently, the town is cleaner and free of mud. The private company Chemonics Egypt, which provided all the necessary technical assistance, supervised the intervention.

PROJECT IMPACT

After The replacement of pipes in East Damanhour City resulted in several benefits:

- Great increase in water pressure, controlled by measuring devices;

- Continuity of pumping without shutoffs because of breakdowns or repairs, thanks to frequent leak detection tests by the company and better maintenance assistance;

- Eliminating turbidity and contamination by using good pipes (HDPE) connected by welding;

- The capacity of the technical staff of the BWADC has improved in relation to operation and maintenance, management, planning and design, through the cooperation and partnership with the Italian company Società Generale di Ingegneria SpA (SGI).

SGI provided to the project technical assistance, transfer of know-how and training. Some training programs were held also in Italy, namely in Ancona and Milan.

Map of civil works in Damanhour



IMPROVING LIVING CONDITIONS OF LOW INCOME FAMILIES IN

THREE DISTRICTS OF THE GOVERNORATE OF SOHAG

Project Code: IDS/44 Applicant and Implementing Agency: MAIS


Location: Districts of Akhmim, Sokulta and Dar el Salam (Gov. Sohag) Project Duration: 2,5 years Start Date: March 9, 2004


OBJECTIVE

This project aims at contributing to poverty alleviation in the Governorate of Sohag, one of the poorest in Egypt. It can be considered as an extension of an existing project implemented by MAIS and financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs “Support of Females Heads of Household” in the Governorate of Sohag which supported poor female heads of household with an awareness program and a micro-credit scheme for economic activities.

It was from the needs expressed by these women that this project was designed: this project was meant to extend educational and training

activities to the children of these poor women in order to promote the development of the whole family. The specific objective of the project is to increase job opportunities for children of Female Heads of Households and other low-income families, through supporting 10 local CDAs to develop sustainable services in literacy and vocational training for children of poor families, in order to allow them to substantially improve their education and therefore their possibilities of finding a more rewarding job.

EXPECTED RESULTS

500 children have access to a two-year literacy course;

250 children have access to computer classes;

1,000 children have access to vocational training courses.

Vocational training on sewing



ACHIEVED RESULTS The Project, which ended on June 2006, achieved the following results in its three main components:

Literacy Program The project established and equipped 20 classrooms in 8 CDA-partners. 20 facilitators were selected and trained as literacy teachers. Awareness was raised among families in order to encourage them to send regularly their children to school. 20 literacy classes, for the duration of two years each, were organized in close collaboration with the Upper Egypt Association allowing 587 children, from 8 to 22 years, to gain the skills of reading and writing and 103 of them to pass the National Literacy Exam.

Computer Program

The Project established and equipped five computer laboratories in 5 CDA-partners; facilitators were selected and trained in order to implement 3 computer courses of 6 months in each CDA. At the end of the Project 517 children, from 14 to 22 years, through the training were able to use computer and to perform activities relevant to the labour market, as for example secretarial work, accountancy, publishing, etc.

Vocational Training Program

The Project established and equipped 15 laboratories in the 10 CDA-partners and selected and trained 15 professional trainers. Through a preliminary survey, the Project assessed the labour market needs and, according to the results, vocational training courses, of 10 months each, were organized for the most needed vocations in the target area. At the end of the Project 1016 children, from 14 to 22 years, had acquired effective capacities in specific vocations, such as in sewing, electrics, plumbing, palm tree waving, carpentry, loom, mobile repairing, and painting.

PROJECT IMPACT The project has contributed to increase job opportunities of vulnerable people in the targeted community by guaranteeing literacy courses and vocational trainings. Particularly building on project’s success and community’s need, both the Egyptian partner “Wahi” and MAIS are continuing the training activities after the end of the project. Currently the CDA is still generating income by providing computer services to the community. Several CDAs are following Wahi and MAIS model by strengthening their labs’ capacities, differentiating their courses and services and widening their target and outreach. It is expected that extra income generated by the successful computer laboratories would be also directed to support these vocational laboratories, which currently are implemented in a sustainable way by the 40 % of the NGOs in Sohag.

Literacy class



DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND GENDER

EQUALITY PROMOTION

Project Code: IDS/45 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Movimondo Total Project Budget: LE 1,997,686 (Euro 316,000)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 1,994,138 (Euro 314,533) Location: Districts of El Omraniyya, El Saff, Abu Ragwan, Dahshour (Gov. Giza)

Project Duration: 3,5 years Start Date: April 15, 2004

Completion Date: August 31, 2007

OBJECTIVE

This Project, implemented in cooperation with the local NGO-partner Al Mubadara, represents a complementary pilot initiative to the project “Community Development through the Growth of Small and Micro Enterprises”, financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The aim is integrating gender perspective in the non-financial services already provided by the Business Development Centres (BDC) established in the four CDA-partners by the complementary project, with the aim of providing effective support to disadvantaged women facilitating their access to economic opportunities.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Local CDAs strengthened in designing and managing non-financial services for women entrepreneurship;

Impact of CDAs in promoting gender equality and women entrepreneurship increased;

Women of the target area empowered and aware of their rights and of the local-available economic opportunities.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project, which completed its activities in August 2007, succeeded in strengthening the capacities of the 4 CDA-partners in designing and delivering non-financial services for women entrepreneurs, integrating them within the services provided by the BDCs established by the complementary project.

CDAs were involved in drafting a manual on gender policy and guidelines, which was undersigned, along with an executive plan for including gender perspective in CDAs’ plan of action. Accordingly, a Women Committee was established in each CDA and women representation in

Seminar on reproductive health care



CDAs’ General Assemblies was encouraged. Two gender field officers and eight volunteers for each CDA were selected and attached to the BDCs’ staff, after having received, together with three board members for each CDA, specific training on gender equality and women entrepreneurship-related issues.

Therefore BDCs were able to design and launch, in each CDA, a comprehensive package of gender-tailored services, based on the experience gained through the complementary project and according to the results of the market needs assessment realized at the beginning of the project. The package included among other services:

Vocational training (carpets, dried flowers, veil pins, liquid soap, cosmetics, perfumes, embroidery, sewing, etc.)

Computer training

Awareness raising events (reproductive health, legal and social insurance, etc).

Special SME-Literacy classes were organized in each CDA under the supervision of Adult Education Authority in which, besides reading and writing, women were provided with an ad-hoc SME module, as a guide step by step in the process of starting a new business for illiterate women. To this aim a manual on how to start a business for illiterate women was drafted and used as reference book.

At the end of SME literacy classes, women prepared a feasibility study of micro projects with a maximum capital of 500 pounds and the best feasibility studies were awarded with vouchers for an effective help to start the business

BDCs’ services were actively promoted within the respective communities through:

Awareness seminars;

Special events, such as in the occasion of the Women International Day or the Mother Day;

A website which included all the relevant information about the services;

Promotional materials as brochures, leaflets, key holds, bags, etc.

PROJECT IMPACT The project did not have a wide impact, due to social and cultural stereotypes related to woman condition in the targeted Governorate. Though project’s activities have allowed the Business Development Centres (BDCs) to facilitate women the access to services by tailoring them on specific needs, only few women have started new small income generating activities or have improved the performance of already existing ones. On the other hand it is worth mentioning that a process towards equal rights has been launched to empower women to receive equal responsibilities and opportunities as men. Equal power relations between women and men are now active in the strategies and the activities of the CDAs.

Legal assistance



IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN

OLD CAIRO

Project Code: IDS/46 Applicant and Implementing Agency: MAIS

Total Project Cost: LE 1,999,900 (Euro 316,000) Project Final Expenditure: LE 1,999,900 (Euro 316,000)

Location: District of Old Cairo (Gov. Cairo) Project Duration: 2 years

Start Date: November 17, 2004 Completion Date: November 30, 2006

OBJECTIVE

This project focuses on increasing job opportunities for children and improving quality of life for families in the area of Old Cairo in view the of the relocation of the tanneries (see project IDS/39), which at the moment represents the main source of income in the whole area. As children represent a great help to their families and cannot easily stop working, the project stems from the idea that, more than by fighting the employment of children in the labour market, their living conditions can be improved through adopting

a more integrated approach:

− children themselves can benefit from more education and professional training, thereby having access to better job prospects;

− families can improve their general standard of living becoming more aware of health and nutrition issues.

This project aims at supporting the local partner Abu El Soud Social Development Association (ASSDA) in building and providing sustainable services as basic education and appropriate vocational training for working children. The main objective is also to improve living conditions of working children’s families, by offering health services and organizing awareness seminars on health and nutrition.

EXPECTED RESULTS 300 children and 80 adults benefited of literacy courses and educational activities; 660 children and 140 adults benefited of vocational training courses in plumbing, electrical

housing installation, refrigerators and A/C, sewing, computer maintenance; 960 working children and their families received free health care services and nutritional

supplements; 200 women acquired knowledge of family health issues.

Vocational training for budding electricians



ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project successfully ended on November 2006: the results achieved even exceeded the plan; according to the three main components:

Literacy Program - Several seminars were held with parents and families in order to discuss the educational needs of the children and encourage them to send their children to school. The Project refurbished and fully equipped 3 classrooms in ASSDA premises, selected and trained 3 teachers and organized 5 literacy courses: consequently 550 children and 193 adults had free access to literacy classes. To increase the educational value of the courses the project organized also regular educational recreational activities such as educational trips and work groups.

Vocational training program - Seminars were held also to discuss professional needs of the children and encourage their parents to send them to the classes; the Project renewed and fully equipped 6 vocational laboratories and a computer lab in ASSDA premises organizing a total number of 36 vocational and computer training courses (A/C-Refrigerators, Sewing, Plumbing, Electrical, Computer Maintenance, Computer training). At the end of the Project 772 children and 377 adults had built their capacities and raised their working skills in specific fields.

Health care program - At the beginning of the Project, a survey on health and socio-economic conditions in the tanneries area assessed community needs in the health field. ASSDA medical centre was rehabilitated and refurbished with new equipment in cooperation with the MOHP. Awareness was created in the families regarding nutrition needs and health of working children; nurses, doctors and laboratory technicians were hired in order to guarantee free health-care services for working children and their families. At the end of the project 716 working children and 284 families had received free medical care while 1040 children had received nutritional supplements. Moreover, 351 women attended the regular health awareness seminars, which were held on themes such as general health, hygiene, nutrition, reproductive health, first aid, bird flu, etc.

PROJECT IMPACT

Italian NGO MAIS and the Egyptian NGO ASSDA, in an attempt to gradually fight child-labour, upgrading activities in Old Cairo aimed to improve children job-prospects following the relocation of tanneries that used to represent the main source of income.

Community needs had been assessed, and vocational training had been provided to over 1,000 children and adults, after which a number of children found jobs in safer environments than the initial hazardous jobs. People previously employed in the old and unsafe tanneries may now actually look forward new options. Number of literacy and vocational training program participants exceeded target, and the local NGO continued the programs after project-end, hence a positive community-perceived impact, of sustained nature. Women who attended health awareness sessions asked for more topics to be covered.

Vocational Training Sewing Class



Having enhanced ASSDA capacities to develop up human resources, a renewed structure of in-house team of trainers with a solid skill base is now able to plan activities in a long-term perspective, thus fostering the project sustainability itself.

Looking at the health dimension of the project the increased awareness on health and nutrition issues, together with the good outcome of ASSDA as a medical centre carried out through efficient health services, generate a reliable income process of self-sustainability of the association itself.

In conclusion ASSDA through an active networking of cooperation with other associations, became part of the ‘Network for Working Children’, a network composed by 5 CDAs all working in the field of child labour in the area of Old Cairo. From now on the issue of working children will be targeted with an higher commitment.



SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH ENHANCEMENT OF NGO

KINDERGARTEN SERVICES

Project Code: IDS/47 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Central Kindergarten Supervisors League

Total Project Budget: LE 1,889,250 (Euro 297,989) Project expenditure: LE 1,886,720 (Euro 297,590)

Location: Gov. New Valley, Fayum, Asyut, Siwa Project Duration: 2 years

Start Date: September 21, 2004 Completion Date: October 31, 2006

OBJECTIVE

The project is based on the social strategy of Early Childhood Development to break the cycle of poverty and it represents a strong support for all the Egyptian NGO committed to offering kindergarten services, especially in the most vulnerable communities. Its main aim is to offer a healthy environment for the education of Egyptian children by strengthening the capacity of Egyptian NGOs to design and deliver high quality kindergarten services in the New Valley, Fayum, Asyut and Siwa.

EXPECTED RESULTS

A standard training programme and methodology for staff of kindergartens is designed and available;

knowledge and skills in Early Childhood Development are improved for staff of selected kindergartens and the MOSS, through the implementation of the standard training programme;

physical environment of selected kindergartens is refurbished;

official recognition from the MOSS obtained for the designed training programme on Early Childhood Development.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The project was successfully concluded in October 2006. Through, the technical support of a group of experts from Cairo University, the project elaborated a standard training programme on Early Childhood Development ECD, directed to staff of kindergartens. The next step of the project was to use this programme on a pilot group of kindergartens, as well as staff of the MOSS. To this regard, a network of trainers from some kindergartens was selected (18 in Asyut, 2 in Siwa, 6 in the New Valley, 7 in Fayum). Their task was to implement training sessions on the standard

Children of kindergartens



programme to other kindergartens. At the end of the project, 243 kindergartens were reached, for a total amount of 713 trainees. In addition, 21 staff members from the local departments of the MOSS were trained.

In addition, in order to enhance more effectively the capacity of kindergartens, the project selected a group of 20 kindergartens involved in the training programme and gave them the possibility of assessing, planning and implementing, under the supervision of the project, a small physical rehabilitation intervention for their own kindergartens.

The project was fully supported for it successful experience by the MOSS, which recognized officially the training programme for the staff of kindergartens.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project in its entirety aimed to reach directly and indirectly 25,000 children in the kindergartens and 1,200 parents and Early Childhood Development staff, enhancing the development of children in poor neighbourhoods and promoting the institutionalization of an Early Childhood Development Certificate Programme for kindergartens staff. In the targeted areas the project contributed positively to a healthier environment of children between 0 and 6 years old.

During the final evaluation, the project found that the quality of the educational and even physical environment of the kindergartens was significantly improved. As an effect of the implementation of the training programme, the initiative has lead to better teachers’ performance, better health and hygienic conditions, better play environment for children, better sense of participation of children, higher support from families of children.

The impact on the field can be assessed as positive, having the project strengthened skills and technical capacities of kindergartens staff, thus assuring at the same time the social sustainability of the project itself. The network of NGO at the grassroots level has been enhanced through an active training chain, which is likely to play a positive role spreading basic knowledge after the end of the project to involved actors and beneficiaries. In conclusion, the project has outlined the main general guidelines for the continuation of a better management of the kindergartens network.

Thus in general the project has designed up a reliable platform for a long-lasting enhancement process in the field, strengthening awareness and capacity building of related actors.

Upgraded playground



IMPROVING EDUCATION QUALITY IN SIWA

Project Code: IDS/48 Applicant: Association for Advancement of Education

Implementing Agency: Association for Advancement of Education / COSPE Total Project Cost: LE 1,986,715 (Euro 314,000)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 1,982,059 (Euro 312,628) Location: Siwa (Gov. Matruh)

Project Duration: 2,5 years Start Date: February 17, 2005

Completion Date: October 31, 2007

OBJECTIVE The Project, implemented in partnership with the Italian NGO COSPE, intends to promote a sustainable development of Siwa Oasis through an improvement in the quality of education. In particular, the project intends to improve the technical and educational skills of teachers, reduce school drop-out especially for girls, by enhancing students’ and parents’ participation, and in the same time aims at sensitizing the community on the importance of preserving the unique environmental and cultural heritage of Siwa, which can represent a factor of development for the Region.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Teachers have improved their skills, their knowledge on curricular subjects, their teaching methodology and have strengthened their environmental awareness;

Students have strengthened their awareness of environment and cultural heritage and have improved their knowledge in the most weak subjects;

Drop out rate has decreased especially for girls;

The role of parents’ council within the schools has been enhanced.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The Project, which successfully ended in October 2007, worked actively with 13 schools of the oasis, targeting teachers, students and parents and achieved the following results:

Teachers – The Project launched a comprehensive capacity building program targeting not only teachers (innovative teaching methods, computer skills, etc.) but also schools’ principals (communication skills and effective school management) in order to raise the skills on their

Training on Environmental awareness



respective subjects and train them on the most innovative teaching techniques and methodologies. By the end of the Project, more than 200 teachers had been trained on modern educational approaches (4 courses), modern learning theories (5 courses), innovative methods of teaching for English (4 courses), Arabic (4 courses), Mathematics (5 courses), computer skills. Moreover special training was delivered to schools’ Principals on communication skills and effective school management

Students – To strengthen students' participation, a computer club and a Health and Environment Club were established in each school, and special support classes were organized for about 1,000 students. School Parents' Boards were reactivated through the organization of activities, sports competitions, etc. A computer club was established and fully equipped in each of the 13 schools for almost 1000 children. A Health and Environment club was established and equipped in each of the 13 schools with the aim of raising health, environmental and tourism awareness through the establishment of a green corner in each school, the organization of environmental camps, the publication of the Environment Friends Magazine and the realization of awareness seminars in cooperation with the main relevant institutions.

Special support classes were organized for more than 1000 students with weaknesses in subjects as Mathematics, Arabic, English, etc. Moreover, several awareness workshops on the importance of education, especially targeting girls, were organized and 32 girls after special training communication skills were enabled to actively volunteer or working in the field of service provision.

Parents – Objective of this component was to encourage the active participation of parents in their children’s life and in particular in school activities. Through the reactivation of School Parents Board and the organization of several activities to encourage joint participation of students, teachers and parents such as computer courses, sport competitions, environmental camps, day-trips to the main tourism destination in collaboration with the Archaeology and the Protectorate Directorates in Siwa.

All these activities were always linked with training and awareness raising activities on Siwa environmental and cultural heritage implemented by COSPE and targeting, at the same time, teachers, students and parents. Among the main topics: Awareness on the current state of the natural resources in the oasis; Sustainable management of natural resources; Awareness on archaeological and architectural heritage; Community environment day; Awareness on eco tourism.

PROJECT IMPACT

The Italian NGO COSPE was specifically concerned with environmental awareness for students, teachers and parents, implemented by private specialized Consultants. In this framework collaborations took place for the first time between the NGO and the Archaeology and



Protectorate Directorates in Siwa, for the organization of day-trips to tourist destinations for students and parents.

The collaboration created an effective role of the Archaeology and Protectorate Directorates in the educational system, through community participation.

The Project contributed to a great extend to raising awareness of students, teachers and board of trustees in both the economic, environmental and social dimensions pertaining to improving educational outputs and effective school-management.

Moreover the project provided, in the Siwa Oasis, an example and a model of how education should be reformed and improved, according to the recommendations posed by the guidelines of the Governmental plans for reform.

The increased participation and awareness of all school stakeholders (pupils, teachers, managers, parents, private sector, NGOs etc..) proved and showed that school reform needs an holistic approach, shared and owned by all participants.



CREATION OF SUSTAINABLE JOB OPPORTUNITIES TO ALLEVIATE

POVERTY AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN MINYA GOVERNORATE

Project Code: IDS/49 Applicant: New Vision Association for Development

Implementing Agency: New Vision Association for Development / COSPE Total Project Budget: LE 1,999,475 (Euro 315,375)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 1,999,472 (Euro 315,374) Location: Gov. Minya

Project Duration: 2,5 years Start Date: August 15, 2005


OBJECTIVE The Project, implemented by the Egyptian NGO New Vision for Development in partnership with the Italian NGO COSPE, aims at the economic and social empowerment of vulnerable youth, women and disabled people in Minya Governorate, through giving them access to effective financial and non financial services, in order to create new sustainable job opportunities and eventually alleviate poverty.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Market demand for manpower in the targeted areas assessed.

Guidelines and standards for technical and professional training formats for main vocations developed.

An Employment and Information Centre (EIC) created and working efficiently.

A Professional and Basic Vocational Training Centre (PVTC) established.

An effective and sustainable loan system established.

New full and part-time jobs created through training courses and micro credit delivered to new and existing micro-enterprises.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

The Project enhanced the knowledge and the understanding of the new Egyptian economic environment through performing a Labour Market Study (LMS) which assessed the market demands for manpower in Minya Governorate and identified the 10 most promising vocations and

Vocational Training activities



professions. According to the results of the study, guidelines and standards were developed for technical and professional training.

This helped the Professional and Basic Vocational Training Centre, established and fully equipped by the Project, to provide effective training for those most needed vocations and professions assessed by the LMS.

Moreover, the Project established an effective credit program with the aim of delivering micro loans for the creation or the expansion of micro and small enterprises.

Both the training courses and the credit program are part of the services managed through the Employment and Information Centre established by the Project, which serves as an orientation desk for people seeking for jobs or training and a gateway for the other services provided by the Project. The EIC, which hosts an updated database of job vacancies, collect the applications of people and according to their requests, their aspirations and their skills it can:

whenever the applicant’s skills match with any of the vacancies available, deliver a job matching service directly linking the employers who need manpower with people entitled to their specific vacancies.

whenever the applicant intends to build or expand its own enterprise, the EIC can refer him to the Credit Unit.

whenever the applicant’s skills do not match with any of the vacancies available, the EIC can refer them to the PVTC giving them access to effective training programs in order to build their capacities to better meet the actual labour market needs and then to access the job matching or the credit services.

Moreover, a very innovative and interesting initiative implemented by the Project was the Job Fairs, which was organized for the first time in Egypt, gathering 2000 youth and 16 private companies and agencies, with the aim of enhancing the availability of new job opportunities creating a direct link between job demand and the labour market needs.

At the end of the Project, 139 new sustainable jobs opportunities had been created: 41 individuals found a job through the Employment and Information Centre and its job matching service; 28 established their own micro-enterprise through the micro-credit program, 3 managed to get employed after having raised their working skills through a training course of the PVCT.

PROJECT IMPACT

The results achieved by the project, i.e. the development of an operational tool (Market Labour Study) able to improve the knowledge of the local economy and of its employment opportunities, the establishment of service centres providing local people with training and advice in order to access the labor market (Basic Vocational Training Centre, Employment and Information Centre), the capacity building addressing local associations in order to develop and operate new approaches

Micro credit beneficiaries



for the delivery of effective and financially sustainable training and lending services, contribute to outline the overall impact performed. The main targets of the project were youth, women and disabled people, disadvantaged categories not only form an economic but also from a cultural point of view. Concerning the first category, the prevailing culture of the community is not encouraging the youth toward learning. The youth is having a lack of skills and good knowledge which is built through years because of depending on governmental jobs. About women householders, they are prevented from going to work out of house area and there are some jobs that is impossible for women to work in. People with disability are considered from the side of kindness and charity but not from the side of empowering, rights practicing and their right to live a normal life. The project activities addressed the specific needs of these three categories through different strategies and tools, with the common scope of upgrading their capabilities and allow them to match with labor market requirements. This has been achieved, from one hand, through non financial services, aimed at increasing the information scheme between job demand and supply and at empowering human resources. From the other hand, financial services consisting in microcredit activities, successfully implemented, have contributed to support individual micro-enterprises as well as to increase economic growth at community level. The project has also faced a cultural challenge: changing the social perception of these people, by carrying out a continuous process of awareness building. As regards the support provided to New Vision Association for Development and to its partner associations, it has allowed to strengthen technical capacity of local associations, enabling them both to deal with project management aspects and to assess community needs and design activities accordingly. To this extent, they worked closely with Italian partners in order to benefit from their experience and, at community level, they became the focal point for local communities and carried out networking activities with private enterprises in order to link demand and supply side.



IMPROVING LIVING CONDITIONS OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Project Code: IDS/50 Applicant: Movimondo

Implementing Agency: Movimondo / Seti Caritas Total Project Budget: LE 1,998,050 (Euro 315,150)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 1,997,967 (Euro 315,137) Location: Districts of El Omraneyya and el Saff (Gov. Giza)


Completion Date: September 30, 2007

OBJECTIVE

The Project, implemented in partnership with the Egyptian NGO Seti-Caritas (see Project IDS/16), tackles the almost total lack of services targeting disabled children, such as tailored education programs, counselling for families, disabled-friendly infrastructure and social activities. Target areas are the districts of El Omraneyya and El Saff in Giza Governorate, where it is estimated that approximately 3.4% of the inhabitants, nearly 250,000 people, are disabled. This great number of people is challenged by serious scarcity of rehabilitation resources, most of which, whereas available, lack tools and

trained personnel: in this regard the Project, aims at enhancing the psycho-physical and social development of Children with Special Needs (CSN) as well as their integration in the community at social, cultural and economic level, by developing CDAs’ capabilities to implement specific health, social and educational support services. Project strategy is based on a capacity building approach known as Community-based rehabilitation, which is characterized by the active involvement of families, schools, doctors, etc. in order to promote a sustainable inclusion of the disabled children in the community life.

EXPECTED RESULTS CDAs’ management capacities strengthened and facilities improved. CDAs able to address CSN problems and promoting CSN activities and integrate them into

community context. Psycho physical and social development of CSN promoted Community sensitized on disability issues.

Social Activities - Daytrip (CBR El Saff)



ACHIEVED RESULTS The Project, which was successfully completed in September 2007, had three main components: Strengthen CDA capabilities of build and manage services for children with special needs. Actual rehabilitation of disabled children. Awareness on disability issues.

CDAs board members were actively involved in project planning and strategy since the beginning: they received specific training on management skills, disability issues and CBR approach, so to be able to build and manage a CBR centre. In order to assess the specific needs of each district, a field survey helped the establishment of a database of the social services available in the target areas such as schools, hospitals, doctors, pharmacies, rehabilitation centres, sport centres, etc. CBR Centres were finally established and equipped in both districts; to this aim CDA premises were fully rehabilitated in el Saff while a new ad-hoc building was constructed in El Omraneyya. As for the rehabilitation component, a CBR volunteer team was selected and trained by the project in order to perform the daily activities of the CBR centre as children welcoming and registration, weekly club, special training for disabled children and their parents, home visits, organization of social events, etc. A total of 270 contacts with CSN were established during the project of which more than 90 cases regularly took part in the daily activities of the project. Therefore CBR centres were strengthened and promoted and are now well known within their respective community. They receive high appreciation by the families which have experienced the activities as an effective mean of social inclusion while their children are getting new skills and developing their psycho-physical condition. As for the third component, awareness on disability related issues was raised through workshop, special events, brochures, videos, etc. A very good linkage was created with the key actors of the areas as local authorities, including the religious ones, medical institutions as doctors and pharmacies which have actively supported the centres.

PROJECT IMPACT In the Governorate of Giza, just a stone’s throw away the pyramids, where millions of tourists come from all over the world, inside Egypt one of the healthier Meddle East countries, handicap issue is pretty much dramatic. Health structures in Cairo outskirt work just for those who can actually afford to pay for them. For the others hopes have been simply switched off. The project having initiate a process to reverse a negative bias in a positive attitude, features a very high social impact. Families of disabled children are now aware that sharing experiences each other is helpful for their son’s well-being. To mix up with other children, playing and having fun together, is something that did not happen before. The rehabilitation program indeed, organized beyond the CBR approach gaze at a direct involvement of children even in their recreational

Vocational training class (CBR Omraniyya)



dimension. Through the active participation of the families that are now willing to take part in the process, rehabilitation activities are played along with summer camps, games and play days. To knock down the wall of social mistrust toward handicap issue became now a real hope. The extent of this success can be traced back also in the valuable involvement of some mosques. The Imams indeed have a very strong power in the spread of positive messages. The strengthening of El Omraneyya and El Saff CDAs actually gave to the community two affordable structures for the rehabilitation of disabled children with a very high social impact, which are likely to keep on going. Despite the short duration of the project, the two CADs indeed have shown a good commitment and a positive attitude toward the sustainability of the project by actively looking for and getting new funding opportunities within their local community.



INFRASTRUCTURAL SUPPORT TO EXTERNAL EMPLOYMENT DEPARTMENT OF THE

MINISTRY OF MANPOWER AND EMIGRATION

Project Code: IDS/51 Applicant: Ministry of Manpower and Emigration

Implementing Agency: International Organization for Migration Total Project Budget: LE 311,000 (Euro 50,000)

Project Final Expenditure: LE 290,484 (Euro 45,818) Location: Gov. Cairo

Project Duration: 6 months Start Date: June 19, 2005


OBJECTIVE

This project was part of the overall implementation of the Integrated Migration Information System (IMIS) initiative financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower and Emigration (MME).

The purpose of the project is to support the External Employment Department (EED) of the MME to effectively implement the job matchmaking modules set up in the framework of IMIS.

This project, in detail, provided the EED, formally entrusted to process the requests for Egyptian

manpower presented by foreign employers, with the appropriate infrastructures and technical support to accomplish a proper management of the matchmaking component linked to IMIS.

ACHIEVED RESULTS The offices of the EED were rehabilitated and furnished; Computers, network connections and leased line were installed in EED.

PROJECT IMPACT

By the end of the Project, the EED has a newly efficient structure where all the conditions needed to implement the activities included in the IMIS Plus project, are in place and working efficiently. It provided a valuable asset for both the human resources working in EED as well as for the

The new offices in the internal area



Information System enhancement. The EED is now able to manage more efficiently the activities oriented to the improvement of the match-making system. A new “validation unit” is under establishment to verify data acquired through the Information System.

The enhancement of the match-making process is of fundamental relevance for the whole Italian-Egyptian management system of work mobility flows.



DOLPHINS HABITAT CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE

Project Code: IDS/52 Applicant and Implementing Agency: Abu Salama Society


Location: Marsa Alam (Gov. Red Sea) Project Duration: 1 year

Starting Date: September 1, 2005 Completion Date: November 30, 2006

OBJECTIVE:

The project, implemented by the Egyptian NGO Abu Salama Society, with the scientific assistance of an Italian/international team of researchers, promotes the sustainable development of tourism in the Egyptian southern Red Sea coast in order to preserve the environment and the marine biodiversity. Indeed, in the last few years, Samadai reef, a natural lagoon 5 km southeast of Marsa Alam, which offers sheltered waters for a vast community of spinner dolphins (Stenella Longirostris), witnessed a major increase in tourism and human interaction with the Marine mammals, with a serious hazard for the fragile environmental balance.

Therefore, the Project aims to build the local capabilities, especially among rangers and field guides of the Red Sea Protectorates, in the scientific, technical and managerial field, in order to strive to conserve important elements of the Red Sea marine biodiversity while ensuring that sustainable development is achieved and promoted.

In order to attain the stated goal, the project addressed the following objectives: (a) make progress in the acquisition of an in-depth understanding of the dolphins’ presence and use of the reef to enable an effective management of tourist use of the area, (b) train local personnel in research techniques, (c) train local personnel in the management of a specially protected area for cetaceans, and (d) provide a practical contribution to a test case to verify and perfect the economic viability of eco-tourist activities based on the respectful use of marine biodiversity.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Increased knowledge of the dolphin habitat and on the appropriate use of the reef for the development of sustainable eco tourism in the area;

Monitoring programs developed and improved and a model for the development of eco-tourist activities established;

Spinner Dolphins in Samadai Reef



Rangers and field guides are trained in research, management procedures and techniques of specially protected areas;

Awareness of dolphins and marine biodiversity enhanced among residents, stakeholders and tourists;

The project has been instrumental to test the economic viability of eco-tourist activities while respecting the marine biodiversity.

ACHIEVED RESULTS

An in-depth knowledge of dolphins’ presence and use of Samadai reef was acquired through the research activity for a more effective management and sustainable use of the area. Of the 277 days spent in total in Egypt by the international team, 146 days (53%) were spent in the field collecting data on Red Sea marine mammals and their habitats, while the remainder time was dedicated to office work, training, workshops, and other non-field work-related activities.

A total of 120 sightings of marine mammals were made and 18.764 photos were taken (for photo-identification).Of all the cetaceans sighted, 83 were inside Samadai, 13 in other reefs and 19 in the open sea. Spinner dolphins were sighted mainly in Samadai (81 sightings), six times in the open sea, two of which associated with other species (T. truncatus and S. attenuata), five times in Satayah, and twice in other reefs.

A plan for the sustainable management and the monitoring of the area was developed based on the acquired scientific knowledge of the dolphins’ environment and on the previously acquired experience. Results from research and monitoring activities have confirmed that the management plan implemented is adequate, but a series of management recommendations were presented at the November 2006 final workshop, including the modification of the zoning for the benefit of swimmers, and at no detriment to the dolphins.

Two Rangers and Field guides were trained in management procedures and techniques in order to guide visitors inside Samadai reef with the aim of respecting the dolphins’ habitat and the environment and to monitor on possible violation of the regulations.

Awareness on dolphins and marine biodiversity was enhanced among stakeholders (Red Sea Protectorates and Red Sea Governorate), local operators and tourists through disseminating brochures, leaflets, snorkel books and launching a website in order to promote tourism respectful of marine habitat.

PROJECT IMPACT

In terms of the consistency with the guidelines and plans of the Egyptian Government, the project complies in full with:

(a) The objectives defined by the MSEA and its executive arm, the EEAA as follows: (1) Strategic: to introduce and integrate environmental concerns relevant to the management of natural resources into all national policies, plans, and Programs, (2) Medium-term: to preserve Egypt’s natural resources and the biodiversity within the context of sustainable development,

Spinner Dolphins in Samadai Reef



(b) The priorities identified within the MSEA/EEAA Fifth 5-Year Plan 2002 – 2007, reflecting the NEAP 2002-2017 which include: (i) Protecting the bio diversity and promoting the sound management of national parks. (ii) Supporting the institutional capacity required for environmental management at the national level, (iii) Benefiting from international cooperation opportunities in the field of environment to solve the environmental problems in Egypt (International cooperation program).

The project was successfully implemented. Its strong potential and the foreseen long-term advantages have been proved both by the provision of a sound technical and scientific background to the Samadai Management Plan implemented by the Red Sea Protectorates and by the success of an exemplary case of building the local capacity through a careful and adaptive management and stewardship of marine biodiversity.

In terms of sustainability, the Abu Salama Society would ensure the continuation of the implementation of the results achieved, in partnership with the Red Sea Protectorates and the Red Sea Governorate. It was assessed that the control by the Rangers in Samadai is essential at all times; several boats and dive operators have not absorbed the conviction that protection is needed, therefore they will try to seize the opportunity of getting close to the dolphins at all costs whenever given a chance. To this regard, one of the management priorities for the next future should be the development of an adequate communication and awareness strategy better about Samadai environment and protection. For this reason the participatory approach in the managing of the Samadai should be continued by the governing authorities.

Finally, an NGO has been identified as one of the partners for the implementation of the project Sustainable Development in the Southern Egyptian Red Sea to be implemented within the IEDS 2, which could further strengthen the sustainability of the activities undertaken.



PILOT PROJECT FOR THE GREEN CORRIDOR

Project Code: IDS/53 Applicant: Ministry of Trade and Industry

Implementing Agency: Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Total Project Budget: LE 4,037,750 (Euro 636,869)


Other Contributions: LE 2,135,500 (Euro 336,830) Funds Transferred at June 2008: LE 1,158,050 Location: Noubaria (Gov. Alexandria, Beheira)

Project Duration: 2,5 years Start Date: January 1, 2006


OBJECTIVE

The project is implemented in the framework of the Green Corridor Joint Declaration, signed by the Egyptian and Italian Ministers of Agriculture in 2002. The aim of the Joint Declaration is to set a framework to enhance bilateral cooperation between Italy and Egypt, facilitating and increasing the production and export to Italy and Europe of Egyptian agricultural products. In this context, the project is a pilot intervention to test and create the suitable conditions for the start-up of the Green Corridor Initiative (now renamed Green Trade Initiative).

EXPECTED RESULTS

Upgrade selected horticultural crops quality. About 3000 tons of selected crops produced and exported to Italy, according to European

specifications; a pack house established in conformity to European standards; traceability requirements fulfilled and quality certification obtained; an Operational Plan for the Green Trade Initiative is drawn according to the experience gained

from the results of the pilot project.

PROGRESS AT JUNE 2008

The management responsibility of the project was assigned by the MOTI to the MALR and, in particular, to the West Noubaria Rural Development Project (Project IDS/1). Therefore, the two projects work in close coordination and partnership. To this regard, it is worth mentioning that the main support provided by the Project IDS/1 consists in technical assistance and credit facilitation.

Green Corridor logo



The Pilot project main objective was to increase the competitiveness and the market share of the Egyptian agricultural products that are exported mainly through Italy to the European markets, and to increase the trade volume between the two Countries.

To reach this objective, the project implemented different activities and produced a comprehensive report outlining the main bottlenecks encountered and suggested feasible solutions to be implemented both by public and private sector within detailed Action and Operational plans.

The project experimented the export process to Italy of some selected crops, by providing technical support and supervising the entire supply chain from cultivation to final destination. Main crops concerned are: grapes, potatoes, green beans, and artichokes. In this framework, the project selected several Egyptian exporters and Italian importers (especially from Apulia region), in order to support them with technical assistance and consultations. To this regard, an important role is played by the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, which performs several technical assistance activities for the project and has elaborated guidelines concerning quality upgrading for export of artichokes. So far, the project has completed successfully the export process for 128 tons of different horticultural crops.

A pack house was identified in West Noubaria and the process of refurbishing according to European standards is under way.

For exported products, the project has successfully implemented an innovative geo-traceability system, which provides full tracking of products from cultivation to final destination, through the internet. In addition, the project cooperates with the Project IDS/37 (Traceability of Agro-Industrial Products for the European Market) in order to benefit from technical assistance and training in relation to the Traceability Manual elaborated by the Project IDS/37.

A comprehensive study has been completed, describing all technical services provided to the project beneficiaries and detailed Operational Plan for the Green Trade Initiative was formulated indicating initiatives to support the whole chain of producing and exporting Egyptian horticultural crops to Italy and Europe, and import Italian products for Egypt. The Study gave priority to: i) setting up a navigation line which shall guarantee direct and regular trips between Egyptian and Italian ports ii) improving the logistics sector; iii) Improving the produce quality. This study aims also to support new business opportunities in the logistic sector between the two Countries and improve the Egyptian competitiveness.

The project is fully committed in promoting its activities through a web site (www.green-corridor.com) and by attending important Egyptian and international fairs, such as Frutiveg Egypt and Fruit Logistic in Berlin.

PROJECT IMPACT

The project, through a dedicated consultancy and through the lessons learned acquired, succeeded in identifying, practically, the obstacles and constrains that limit the flow of horticultural crops between Egypt and Europe.



The most important outcome of the project was the detailed Action and Operational Plan, which covers the whole commercial chain starting from the field production up to the final consumer in Europe. This plan is meant to be a solid base for both Egyptian and Italian institutions to continue the enhancement of the agriculture supply chain. This study paved also the way to the new Green Corridor Initiative, which should coordinate different Egyptian ministries (Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of international Cooperation) in their support to horticultural export.

italian - egyptian debt for development swap | final

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