Egypt
Although Egypt has the world's longest river, the Nile, flowing the entire length of the country, it is very dry with 96% of the land area covered by the Sahara desert. Not surprisingly, the majority of the 75 million population lives in the Nile valley or delta. 60% of the population depend on the land for their survival, the majority of whom are Sunni Muslims and speak Arabic.
After a turbulent period of war with Israel spanning over three decades, a peace settlement was agreed in 1979; however this move created tensions with many other Arab states that opposed the settlement. In 1991 the government installed economic reforms to liberalise the economy, opening it up to foreign investment and encouraging private-sector growth.
However many Egyptians still live in poverty with nearly half the population living on less than $2 a day. In the northern rural regions particularly, poverty is still widespread and many children work rather than attend school.
Over the past decade Egypt has made great efforts to achieve child rights, especially in relation to education, and improve the mortality rate for women and children. Efforts have been made to close the gender gap in education, however gender disparities are still significant and female genital cutting is widely practised on girls.
Some of the reasons why Plan works in Egypt
- One in six children under five years old suffer from stunted growth due to poor nutrition
- 20% of all children do not attend secondary school
- 19% of all children, girls especially, are forced into child marriage
- Nearly half the rural population do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities
;)