Egypt, Lebanon to boost social protection cooperation

Egypt’s Minister of Social Solidarity Maya Morsy held a meeting with Lebanon’s Minister of Social Affairs Haneen Sayed on the sidelines of a celebration marking ten years of Egypt’s conditional cash transfer programme, Takaful and Karama.

The ministers discussed boosting cooperation in social protection and economic empowerment, with Morsy emphasising the programme’s success as a nationally scalable model. Since its launch, Takaful and Karama has supported 7.7 million families, with 3 million exiting the programme and 4.7 million currently benefiting.

Morsy noted that the programme is now backed by legislation through a new social security law, which also includes an investment component.

She highlighted efforts to integrate beneficiaries with the National Council for Women’s digital savings and lending initiative, Tahwisha, without affecting their programme eligibility.

Lebanon’s Minister said her country is implementing a similar programme, Aman, and expressed interest in Egypt’s experience in micro-enterprise and economic inclusion. The meeting concluded with an agreement to draft a cooperation protocol between the two ministries in the field of social protection.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: M. S. Salama