Report: Decent Life Contributes to Reducing Poverty Rate

The Egyptian government has implemented the Solidarity and Dignity Program to eradicate poverty, a program that follows the presidential initiative "A Decent Life" launched by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi early 2019.

The Decent Life initiative succeeded in this sector by supporting 3.8 million families (14.1 million citizens) from cash support programs, within billions of pounds directed by the state to eradicate poverty.

The initiative succeeded in reducing the poverty rate in 19/2020 for the first time since 99/2000 to reach 29.7 percent, as well as reducing the extreme poverty rate from 6.2 percent in 2018/17 to 4.5 percent in 2019/2020.

According to the report of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development on the government’s efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals, with regard to the first goal: the eradication of poverty, the state directed LE 750 billion (from the state’s general budget) during the period (18/2019-20-2021) for social protection programs, with a growth rate It reached 50 percent between the years (15/2016 - 20/2021).

The preliminary stage of the "Decent Life" initiative also included directing about LE 15 billion to develop the 375 most needy villages in Egypt. Prior to the implementation of the "Decent Life" initiative, the national poverty rate had reached 32.5 percent in 2017/2018 and was mainly concentrated in rural communities, especially in Upper Egypt.

The first phase of Egypt’s Decent Life initiative – launched in July 2019 and ended at the end of 2020 – included 143 villages in 46 centers in about 11 governorates, bringing the number of beneficiaries to 1.8 million.

Assessing the impact of the initiative on achieving the sustainable development goals, a former report by the Ministry of Planning stated that “A Decent Life” was able to achieve several achievements in terms of the third, fourth, sixth, eighth, and eleventh goals.

The Decent Life Initiative aims to improve the lives of nearly 60 million Egyptian citizens, with 9 goals, most notably raising the social, economic, and environmental levels of the targeted families.

A study by the Egyptian Center for Thought and Studies revealed that this project is being implemented in three phases. The first includes villages with poverty rates of 70% or more. The second includes villages with poverty rates from 50% to 70%, and the third includes villages with poverty rates less than 50%.