The Ministry of Health and Population held a discussion session entitled (National Population Strategy 2023-2030; The Urgent Plan), as part of the activities of the second edition of the World Conference on Population, Health and Human Development (PHDC24), which is held under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, under the slogan « Human Development: For a Sustainable Future, in the New Administrative Capital.
And present at that session were Dr. Abla Alfi, Deputy Minister of Health and Population, and Dr. Atef Al-Shaitani, former rapporteur of the National Population Council and advisor to the head of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. , Abdel Hamid Sharaf, Dawlat Shaarawi, Population and Development Officer at the United Nations Population Fund, and Bilal Habash, Deputy Governor of Beni Suef.
Dr. Abla Alfi, Deputy Minister of Health and Population, reviewed the National Population and Development Strategy 2023-2030, which he is working on. 130 different bodies, as the strategy aims to reach a total fertility rate of 2.1 per woman, in addition to ensuring reproductive rights, strengthening the role of women, governing the population file, enhancing education and learning, and investing in human capital, pointing out that the governance axis has been included for the first time within the strategy to ensure follow-up and evaluation of the stages and steps. Implementation and its results.
The session will review the “Alfie” The Egyptian Household Health Survey 2021, the overall fertility rates for the governorates, according to the same population survey, the illiteracy rate for those aged 10 years and over according to the governorates in 2023, the contribution rate of women aged 15 and over in economic activities, and the unemployment rate for the entire republic (ages 15-29) for the year 2023. .
The “Alfie” sign To the relationship between the rate of human development and the population issue, as population growth directly affects health and community development, in addition to emphasizing the importance of correcting misconceptions in society regarding reproduction and reproductive health, in order to ensure a reduction in the number of births, a reduction in the rates of stunting, anemia, and non-communicable diseases, and improving Health and mental performance, as well as maximizing the ability to learn, increasing life expectancy at birth, production and well-being of life.
"Alfi" reviewed The urgent plan to implement the National Population Strategy 2024-2027, which aims to (reach the total birth rate of 2.1 children per woman, achieve human development and improve population characteristics), emphasizing raising the efficiency and operating rates of primary health care units to provide high-quality health services to all citizens, including services Family planning, comprehensive inventory of population characteristics, dividing the region into small areas of 500 families each, responsible for which a leader and a provider and counsellor, forming working groups from relevant ministries and bodies, increasing development projects.
For his part, Dr. Atef Al-Shaitani pointed out , the former rapporteur of the National Population Council, stressed the importance of the National Population and Development Strategy in bringing about important qualitative changes within Egyptian society, as he reviewed the annual indicators to measure progress in implementing the strategy up to the year 2030, as well as the motivations behind updating the strategy, which included (results of the 2021 health survey, The national project for family development, which is the cornerstone of modernizing the strategy, presidential initiatives for social protection, constitutional commitment, demographic changes, benefiting from the demographic dividend, integrating different groups into society, and working on consistency with sustainable development goals Emphasizing that the strategy was built according to a scientific and participatory methodology.
The advisor to the head of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, Abdel Hamid Sharaf, stressed that the agency had a major role in preparing the strategy, which relied heavily on the results of the Egyptian Household Health Survey 2021 as well as on Population data is provided by the agency in detail, in addition to the agency’s effective role in preparing the executive plan for the strategy, pointing out that the basic axes of the strategy depend on data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. He also stressed that the agency pays great attention to the urgent plan for the population file, in reaching the reproductive rate. The total will reach (2.1) children per woman in the year 2030.
For her part, Dawlat Shaarawi, Population and Development Officer at the United Nations Population Fund, confirmed the Fund’s full support for the National Population and Development Strategy 2023-2030, pointing out that the Fund It works according to integrated programs to support government agencies, pointing to the importance of adhering to an integrated and effective institutional framework and achieving decentralization to implement the strategy to ensure its governance through the National Population Council in all branches in the governorates, as well as the importance of enhancing capacity building for human cadres at the central and local levels.
< p>While the Deputy Governor of Beni Suef, Bilal Habash, reviewed the population situation in the governorate, which includes more than 3.6 million citizens, in terms of (maternal and child mortality, and birth rates), as well as reviewing the governorate’s visions for sustainable development (improving the quality of life, economic development, Governance), stressing Working within the National Population Strategy according to a number of axes, including: (Investing in human capital, education and learning, strengthening the role of women, media and communication for development).
