Egypt’s press freedom deteriorated further, ranking 161 out of 180 countries according to Reporters Without Borders. This mother in Assiut governorate attends a healthy nutrition class with her child. Population-Level Health Challenges. In December, the Egyptian authorities said they were temporarily closing their investigation into the murder. The attack killed 305 worshippers including 27 children. Following his arrest, a court placed Abu al-Fotouh and others on the country’s terrorism list. The Egyptian government and state media have framed this repression under the guise of combating terrorism, and al-Sisi has increasingly invoked terrorism and the country’s state of emergency law to silence peaceful activists. On average, the FETP conducts 3-5 outbreak investigations per year, including recent investigations of E. coli, Rift Valley fever, viral hepatitis, typhoid, tetanus, and human rabies. Air pollution is a global public health concern, with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) calling it “the greatest environmental risk to health” in 2019. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/egypt At least 10 individuals and 7 organizations have had their assets frozen. Type of Organisation Professional Association. The Egyptian parliament had passed the law on July 5, granting the government broader powers to restrict freedom of expression, violate citizens’ privacy, and jail online activists for peaceful speech. Implementing Partner: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Life of Project: February 2015 – December 2020; Total Estimated Cost: $6.2 million; Governorates: Conducted at a national level in partnership with the General Organization of Veterinary Services (GOVS)/Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Find out about career opportunities at USAID. Support is currently provided through USAID’s Global Health Security and Development program, which seeks to reduce the risk of human exposure by reducing infections in poultry. Military operations in Sinai have escalated over the last five years. The increased health awareness that is spreading in Egypt was threatened by double-digit inflation towards the end of the review period, although, despite this, health consciousness has risen thanks … Latest travel advice for Egypt, including how to stay safe during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and information on returning to the UK. Make a general inquiry or suggest an improvement. To ensure that volunteers are quickly sent where they are most needed, USAID is strengthening ERC’s coordination and communication capabilities through technical equipment upgrades. The arrests included those who called for boycotting the process, such as the 2012 presidential candidate and the head of the Strong Egypt Party, Abd al-Moneim Abu al-Fotouh. A new governor, Abdel Fadil Shousha, eased some restrictions beginning in October but residents were allowed only a few liters of car fuel every month and had to line up for hours to obtain it. Authorities have regularly failed to protect Christians from sectarian attacks and to prosecute perpetrators. ... with this trend set to continue in 2019. The elections were held on the backdrop of a new trade union law that parliament passed in December 2017 after the International Labour Organization (ILO) put Egypt back on its blacklist over the country’s failure to issue a new trade union law in keeping with ILO Convention 87 concerning the right of workers to organize. However in the view of trade unionists and labor activists, the law "was only issued to win favor with the International Labor Organization,” and it kept in place several restrictions on the right to organize. In November, President al-Sisi ordered the law revised but the government did not announce a timeline for such revision. In addition, the army has demolished without judicial orders several houses in al-Arish that belong to families of dissidents, including, in September, the family home of journalist Hossam al-Shorbagy. Authorities pressured victims to accept a government-mediated “reconciliation” that allows perpetrators to evade prosecutions, while authorities offered no concrete future protections to the worshippers and their families. About 84% of total mortality in Egypt is attributed to NCDs mainly Cardiovascular diseases, Cancer, Chronic Lung diseases and Diabetes. The Interior Ministry’s National Security Agency (NSA) continues to operate with near-absolute impunity. Egyptian authorities have arrested scores of documented and undocumented migrants and kept them in inhumane detention conditions, referring some of them to trials. The government continued to silence critics through arrests and unfair prosecutions of journalists and bloggers, and the parliament issued severely restrictive laws that further curtail freedom of speech and access to information. Authorities have placed hundreds of people and entities on the country’s terrorism list and seized their assets for alleged terrorism links without any hearing or proper due process. For over 40 years, USAID has worked with the Egyptian people to improve health and promote a stronger workforce. Egyptian authorities have been using counterterrorism and state-of-emergency laws and courts to unjustly prosecute bloggers, activists, and critics for their peaceful criticism. Ministry of Health and Population Egypt . USAID provided the Government of Egypt with a donation of ventilators and technical assistance to increase the number of personnel who are trained to use them at 24 hospitals in 12 governorates throughout the country. Since July 2013, Egyptian criminal courts have sentenced hundreds of people to death in cases stemming from alleged political violence. The funds were released despite the ongoing and worsening crackdown on human rights in Egypt. In July, the Trump administration announced that it would reinstate Foreign Military Financing funds to Egypt after withholding some funds in August 2017 pending improving democracy and human rights benchmarks, which were not published. The restrictive Law 80 of 2016 on the construction of churches allowed for conditionally legalizing a small number of churches that were operating without an official permit, but restrictions remain largely in place. The anemia and obesity are common health problems in Egypt and specifically prevalent amongst young children. Other challenges remain, as well. USAID partners with Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population to improve key areas of intervention to improve healthy behaviors, enhance the quality of health services, and support the Government of Egypt in policy and program design via research, monitoring, and training in key areas such as voluntary family planning. In May, the European Union spokesperson decried the wave of arrest of human rights defenders in the country. A report collating data from across the Eastern Mediterranean Region warns of deteriorating health conditions. Though the Egyptian health care system is character¬ised by a pluralistic mix of public facilities, it has been strained by rapid population growth and relatively low levels of funding. For several decades, the government has provided a subsidized healthcare system that is meant to ensure health care for those who cannot afford it. While Egypt’s Cassation Court overturned hundreds of them, it upheld others. Both court systems are inherently abusive and do not meet minimum due process standards. In an effort to stem the total fertility rate, USAID provides technical assistance and training for the Ministry of Health and Population staff to improve the quality of voluntary family planning services and information. Mada Masr speaks ... One of the report’s key findings was a rise in the burden mental health problems will place on societies and public health … EGYPTIAN RED CRESCENT RESPONSE OPERATIONS TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN EGYPT: USAID is supporting ERC’s network of 30,000 volunteers and health professionals to conduct large-scale community outreach programs to prevent the spread of COVID-19.In addition, the program seeks to build ERC’s capacity to mobilize its volunteers and respond to future crises. 17 December 2019. The Stop Enforced Disappearance campaign has documented 1,530 cases from July 2013 to August 2018. Thousands of residents in the east rely on rain water. Under the patronage of Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population, North Africa Health is the most extensive healthcare exhibition and conference covering Egypt… Sinai Province militants have also targeted civilians they perceive to be government collaborators or sympathizers, as well as security forces, and routinely executed their captives. Those arrested included Hazem Abd al-Azim, a political activist; rights defender, Wael Abbas; Shady al-Ghazaly Harb, a surgeon; Haitham Mohamadeen, a lawyer; Amal Fathy, an activist; and Shady Abu Zaid, a satirist. constitute a major burden over the health system in Egypt and are considered a major challenge for socioeconomic development in the country. On August 18, President al-Sisi approved a new law regulating the internet called the Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes Law (Cybercrime Law). AmbulanceWoman Health Blood Bank National PACS Pharmaceutical Medical Council Licensing Laboratory Hospital Disease Surv. Release of the Joint Publication “Children in Egypt 2016” presenting national data on child well-being in Egypt A Statistical Digest “Children in Egypt 2016” is launched today by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in cooperation with the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood. Healthcare in Egypt consists of both a public and a private sector. The rights group Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) documented the closure by the authorities of 14 churches. Overpopulation and its impact on a range of health issues threaten Egypt’s journey to self-reliance. The intensified crackdown also includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists, artists, and alleged or self-described atheists. Organisation Info. In addition, JEPHA has particular interest in publishing manuscripts addressing emerging health problems and those focusing on Egyptian strategic health priorities. The activity focuses on two groups of young people as potential clients: male and female factory workers as well as youth with secondary or university education in urban areas. Since then, the Egyptian army has destroyed hundreds of hectares of farmland and at least 3,000 homes and commercial buildings, together with 600 buildings destroyed in January—the largest number of demolitions since the army officially began evicting Rafah city in 2014. The Egypt Health Issues Survey (EHIS) was undertaken as part of the Ministry of Health and Population’s commitment to obtain data on a number of Egypt’s key health concerns, particularly the prevalence of hepatitis and of hypertension, smoking, and obesity, which are major risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. USAID quickly stepped in to support the Government of Egypt’s "National Plan for Egypt Against the Coronavirus" with a core investment in the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) in coordination with the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the Ministry of Health and Population. Another series of arrests launched in August included former ambassador Ma’soum Marzouk, who called for a public referendum on whether al-Sisi should resign. Health problems loom on Egypt’s horizon . These courts do not guarantee a fair trial and their decisions are not subject to appeal. Egypt’s also passed the country’s first comprehensive law for health insurance for citizens in January and legalized the situation of some scores of churches that the government had previously not approved for building. In February, the army announced a new campaign against militants of the ISIS-affiliated group known as Sinai Province. Authorities arrested dozens of people who peacefully protested in May in response to increases in Cairo’s subway fare prices. These health problems include the world’s highest obesity rates in addition to the highest global rates of Hepatitis C infection. Although he claimed enforced disappearances are not systematic in Egypt, he failed to explain why the Interior Ministry did not report the whereabouts of 500 people to families who had submitted official complaints. Telecommunications and electricity are still sometimes shut for days or weeks in some areas. Egypt ranked sixth in highest numbers of executions and third in the largest number of death sentences in the world in 2017. Three years after the abduction, torture, and murder of the Italian PhD student, Giulio Regeni, in Cairo, prosecutors failed to charge anyone despite the government saying security was monitoring Regeni and investigated his activities before his death. On September 29, a criminal court sentenced Fathy to two years’ imprisonment for “publishing false news,” as well as a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (US$560) for making “public insults.” She continues to face charges in a separate case on trumped-up allegations of belonging to a terrorist organization. Judicial authorities have investigated very few officers and even fewer have been prosecuted for abuses, including enforced disappearances and torture. This has manifested itself in longer life expectancy, higher productivity and even trickling down to increased household income. Refugees and asylum-seekers in Egypt are predominantly from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, South Sudan, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen, living in urban areas alongside local communities. The security forces have committed widespread abuses during the protracted campaign including enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial executions, and military trials of civilians, as well as home demolitions. On May 9, activist Amal Fathy posted a video on her Facebook page in which she spoke about the prevalence of sexual harassment in Egypt and criticized the government’s failure to protect women. Education is one of the most important tools of woman empowerment. Article share tools US President Donald Trump, during al-Sisi’s September visit to New York, said that al-Sisi has done “an outstanding job” in fighting terrorism. In late July, parliament also passed a new law regulating the press, the Media Regulation Law, which further restricts journalistic freedoms, allows censorship without judicial orders, and levies severe monetary fines for violating the law’s articles, in addition to prison sentences for cases related to “inciting violence.” Despite objections from Egypt’s Journalists’ Syndicate, parliament approved the law largely unamended. Prosecutors continued to use detainee confessions despite credible allegations they were coerced through torture. USAID/Egypt Fact Sheet: Global Health (pdf - 194k), EGYPTIAN RED CRESCENT RESPONSE OPERATIONS TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN EGYPT: USAID is supporting ERC’s network of 30,000 volunteers and health professionals to conduct large-scale community outreach programs to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Consequently, most Egyptians opt for private facilities, fuelling high levels of out-of-pocket expenditure and increasing desire for private insurance. Data for the first nine months of FY19 show that this pickup is driven by net exports, as goods and services exports inched up in tandem with a contraction of oil imports. However, while state officials claimed the elections were transparent and fair, results only reflected the former status quo, with the government-affiliated Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) emerging from the process effectively in control of the unions. Authorities announced in late 2017 that they were investigating Human Rights Watch claims of police and NSA forces’ use of torture, but at time of writing, these investigations had not led to the prosecution of any alleged perpetrators. Key accomplishments include a dramatic reduction in rates of maternal and child mortality and chronic malnutrition, the elimination of polio in 2006, and the establishment of a national community health worker program. Implementing Partner: Egyptian Red Crescent; Life of Project: May 2020 – May 2021; Total Estimated Cost: $3.2 million; Governorates: Nationwide, FAMILY PLANNING THROUGH THE PRIVATE SECTOR: With approximately 1.3 million Egyptians born every six months, exponential population growth is one of Egypt’s greatest challenges. Yet restrictions on freedom of religion remain largely in place. Egypt had allocated 125 billion pounds from its 1.6 trillion pound 2019/20 budget to the health sector. 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