The Italian Embassy in Cairo, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) signed an agreement on Jan. 14 during a ceremony hosted at the Residence of the Italian Ambassador Agostino Palese, to launch the new three-year joint program focusing on reproductive health and population issues, with adolescent girls and young people at its heart, as key change agents.
The project, titled “A holistic approach to population growth: Enhancing population characteristics and strengthening reproductive health information and service delivery channels,” aligns with the pillars of Egypt’s National Project for the Development of the Egyptian Family, Egypt Vision 2030 and the recently launched National Strategy for Youth and Sports, while also fitting within the broader framework of Italy’s renewed engagement in Africa, including initiatives promoted under the Mattei Plan.
In close partnership with relevant ministries, civil society organizations, private sector, faith-based organizations, youth organizations and research institutes, the project will work on empowering local communities in target governorates, especially adolescent girls, women and young people, with the knowledge and agency to make informed decisions about their reproductive health, harnessing the power of the UNFPA-supported youth networks and social norms change.
It will also focus on strengthening national systems to provide comprehensive quality reproductive health services, which includes building the capacities of service providers to deliver high-quality, rights-based family planning and reproductive health counseling and services. Community-based and youth-friendly spaces will also be supported to encourage participation, dialogue and social inclusion, including through sports and recreational activities.
The project builds on the success of previous strategic collaboration since 2019 between UNFPA and AICS, which involved an innovative approach to addressing population issues through a 360° campaign aimed at raising awareness on the importance of making informed reproductive choices as well as in increasing the demand for voluntary family planning.
Follow the latest news on Google News
