Egypt is the first Arab country to implement the conditional monetary support programs launched to provide social security for the needier families and preserve their educational and health rights, according to The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
The report issued by CAPMAS on Tuesday on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty said that these programs also aim to support the segments which do not have the ability to sustain a job, such as senior citizens, orphans, and individuals with disabilities.
One of the most important programs launched by CAPMAS are Takaful and Karama whose focus includes aspects such as health and education and helping seniors and the disabled. Takaful offers help to families whose children are school students.
From the educational aspect, the program offers monetary support to families with pre-school children and pregnant mothers.
On the other hand, Karama program aims to offer financial support to senior citizens and the disabled on the condition of the citizen to be above 65 year and unable to make a living. The family should also not have a fixed income, such as insurance pensions or social security pensions.
As for the disabled, there is a condition that their disability prevents them from sustaining a job. This can be proved through a medical certificate.
The number of beneficiary families of Takaful and Karama programs since March 2015 to May 2017 is estimated at 1.7 million families, including nearly eight million individuals. The total amounts of money provided to the families from Takaful and Karama are estimated at EGP 7.5bn.
The UN General Assembly marked 17 October to be the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty in 1993 with the aim of raising awareness to limit poverty and extreme poverty in all countries, especially in developing countries.
The national sustainable development strategy aims to reduce extreme poverty from the current 5.3% to 2.5% by 2020, and completely eliminate poverty by 2030.