USAID/Egypt 5.11

For nearly four decades, the American people through USAID have helped to improve the quality of life for Egyptians through nationwide programs in health, education, governance, and economic development. Our program in Egypt, totaling nearly $30 billion since 1978, has directly and fundamentally supported concrete achievements that have improved the lives of and futures of Egyptians.

We have helped to eliminate polio and significantly reduce infant and maternal mortality rates. There are libraries in all 39,000 public schools in Egypt due to USAID support, and we are working to ensure that all children learn to read in the first grade. We improved and expanded telecommunications networks, which was critical to Egypt’s ability to increase trade and investment. In greater Cairo, we supported the reduction of lead levels in the air by more than 65 percent. We helped to decentralize the water and sanitation sector and have improved water and wastewater facilities in Greater Cairo, the North Coast, and Upper Egypt that benefit 27 million people. Conservation work at some 70 sites throughout the country has included groundwater lowering at the Giza Plateau, protecting the Sphinx and other internationally and historically significant cultural treasures. Further, over the past three years, we have added 40,000 new jobs to the market.

USAID programs are designed in coordination with Egyptians to create sustainable prosperity. Programs seek to improve agricultural and water productivity and enhance livelihoods in rural zones where poverty and lack of jobs, especially for youth and women, are issues. USAID helps to ensure that future generations will have the tools to succeed and provides opportunities for Egypt’s large youth population as it enters higher education and the workforce. We seek to enhance the contributions of civil society as a whole – with a focus on women and youth – to build institutions and to achieve political and economic reforms.