Deputy Health Minister Reviews Achievements of the National Family Development Project
Misr Mubasher – October 29, 2025
Dr. Abla El-Alfy, Deputy Minister of Health and Population, held a meeting to review the achievements of Egypt’s National Family Development Project and to discuss preparations for the second implementation phase of the National Population and Development Strategy. The meeting came in line with directives from Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy Prime Minister for Human Development and Minister of Health and Population.
Attending the meeting were Dr. Margaret Sarofim, Deputy Minister of Social Solidarity; Dr. Shaimaa Samir, Deputy Head of the Planning and Follow-Up Sector at the Ministry of Planning; and Dr. Randa Fares, Advisor to the Minister of Social Solidarity for Family Health and Development and Director of the “Mawadda” program, in addition to representatives from the National Council for Women, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, and the National Population Council.
According to Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the Ministry’s spokesperson, the meeting reviewed the outcomes of the project’s first phase, which included the operation of 16 out of 21 Family Health and Development Centers through partnerships among the Ministries of Health and Social Solidarity and the National Council for Women. Training programs benefited more than 567,000 citizens, created 191,500 job opportunities, launched 65 family clinics, and supported 460,000 women in accessing family-planning services.
The phase also included monthly awareness visits emphasizing the importance of spacing births by three to five years and correcting misconceptions, in addition to training 80,000 participants under the “Mawadda” program and launching the “Ask Mawadda” digital platform for family counseling.
Discussions addressed the financial challenges facing family-development centers and stressed the need to differentiate between operational and investment spending to ensure sustainability of workshops and production units.
The National Council for Women reviewed its efforts in financial inclusion, savings, and digital lending since 2021, which benefited 400,000 women with savings exceeding EGP 15 million. The Council also helped establish 11,000 small and medium enterprises, trained 450 certified trainers, and organized 2,138 financial-literacy workshops benefiting 74,000 women, alongside training 30,000 women in production workshops.
Meanwhile, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood outlined its efforts in legislative and social empowerment and in combating harmful practices such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, and child violence. These efforts included 2,000 awareness activities reaching more than 79,000 people and engaging 100,000 children and girls in storytelling circles under the “Girls’ Empowerment Initiative”, as well as supporting the Child Helpline (16000) and protection units.
Dr. El-Alfy reaffirmed that the project aligns with the objectives of the National Population Strategy, noting that the second phase will feature broader coordination among all stakeholders to achieve the state’s targets by 2027, with a focus on cost efficiency and preventing overlap between programs.
The meeting concluded with several recommendations, including reviewing the project’s budget for FY 2025/2026, classifying activities under operational and investment spending, linking databases to the national ID system for accurate targeting, introducing quarterly impact-measurement indicators, and conducting training programs in cooperation with the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
Participants also agreed to draft ten unified public-awareness messages on population issues and to intensify efforts over the next three months to reduce birth rates by mid-2026, while exploring new partnerships with the private sector and international organizations to ensure sustainable project financing.
