Reviewing the UNDP Governorates Human Development Reports, Reem Leila notes that much remains to be done before Egypt meets the Millennium Development Goals The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Local Development this week announced the release of its final Governorate Human Development Reports (GHDRs), which gauge the quality of local development in eight Egyptian governorates. The reports covered the governorates of Cairo, Damietta, Port Said and Suez. They also surveyed South Sinai, the Red Sea, Al-Wadi Al-Gadid and Luxor governorates. Professor of rural development at Ain Shams University and reports author Ibrahim Muharram said during the launch that the GHDRs identify the achievements which have succeeded in improving the quality of life in the governorates studied. The reports also define the disparities between various population units in the governorates and purport to offer an alternative course for local development. According to Minister of Local Development Abdel-Salam El-Mahgoub, the GHDRs aim at measuring levels of attainment for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the district level for the remaining governorates, and to create a Data Updating Unit within Information and Decision-Making Support Centre (IDSC) in all 29 governorates, to provide training and technical assistance for the staff. The ultimate objective, El-Mahgoub said, is to attain "better equality, and sustainable local human development". Meanwhile, the Egyptian government through the Ministry of Local Development is exerting efforts to deepen the understanding of the concept of human development among the country's leaders, as well as to disseminate such knowledge among citizens at large. The government, according to El-Mahgoub, is also using human development indices to determine the state of development in the various administrative units, thus uncovering any disparities in development at that level. This leads to a more balanced distribution of available limited resources which in turns leads to balanced investments in different areas of development. "This will ultimately provide Egyptian citizens with a wide range of investment and career opportunities," revealed El-Mahgoub. UNDP Regional Representative in Cairo Mounir Thabet addressed conference attendees by stating that each report presents a comprehensive development map for its respective governorate. The reports are designed to help decision-makers devise the appropriate plans for attaining balanced human development in Egyptian cities and villages. The final series of the GHDRs includes a description of the general characteristics of each governorate. "This includes its position on the UN human development index, the indicators for human development, and the status of women, civil society and the private sector," stated Thabet. The reports for the most part contend that local human development in most governorates is poor and needs greater efforts in order to attain the UN's prescribed MDGs by the year 2015. A case in point is the governorate of Damietta in the northeast of the Nile Delta, with a population of 1,090,000. The average annual income rate of each individual in Damietta is LE7,590, whereas the average individual annual income across Egypt is LE6,300. This means that "individuals residing in Damietta have a better income than any other Egyptian by more than LE1,200," said Muharram. Although there are villages in Damietta such as Al-Ibrahimiya and Kafr Saad where the average income of their residents is LE10,000, there are other villages such as Al-Sawalem where the percentage of poverty is 100 per cent. Muharram pointed out that "policy- and decision-makers must take these data into consideration in order to achieve balance among residents of Damietta." But Damietta Governor Fathi El-Baradei, who attended the event, objected to the findings of the UNDP report. "These data are old and date back to 2006; thus they do not reflect the true situation in all of Damietta," he said. According to El-Baradei, residents of the village whom the report alleges to be 100 per cent poor in fact are doing quite well. Of more than 1,500 families, 445 have washing machines, 414 own refrigerators, while 451 families own TV sets. "Other villages need more governmental care and official attention," he added. Cairo meanwhile showed signs of some positive improvement, with life expectancy rising from 65.6 years in 2002 to 77.1 years in 2006. Enrolment in all levels of education increased from 74.1 per cent in 2002 to 76.5 per cent in 2006. Per capita GDP rose from LE6,380 in 2002 to LE7,950 in 2006. Other indicators showed the situation has actually worsened over recent years. With a population of 1,600,000, the governorate of Suez only counts on 345 schools, at a class capacity of 54 students in 2006, whereas in 2002 it was only 35 students per class. Adult literacy in Suez deteriorated from 71.1 per cent in 2002 to 70.1 per cent in 2006. On the other hand, female education enrolment levels increased to 91.6 per cent in 2006 from 72.8 per cent in 2002. But only 19 per cent of the total population has graduated from high schools and universities. The report recommends that Suez relocate its existing health and educational personnel and mobilise soft loans in order to encourage self-employment amongst youth. It also urges the provision of funds for upgrading water and sewage networks. The report also revealed that out of Al-Wadi Al-Gadid's 187,256 population 9.5 per cent are unemployed. The percentage of unemployment in Farafra Oasis, with a population of 6,000, is 5.7 per cent, whereas the percentage of unemployment at Al-Amal village -- right next to Farafra -- is zero per cent, "thus accomplishing the international standard of unemployment. It is the only place in Egypt which has achieved this percentage. All citizens at the age of work are working," said Muharram. Meanwhile, unemployment in Kharga Oasis stands at 14 per cent, and in Paris Oasis it was up to 24 per cent according to 2006 statistics. A unified plan for development is recommended, which would integrate all local development projects along with their objectives, based on the Human Development Index. A general recommendation in all the GHDRs was the improvement of the situation of women, especially in rural areas. Also recommended was the establishment of a unified mechanism for grassroots participation in local development and enhancing the role of agricultural cooperatives. Finally, the report stated that a national campaign could mobilise society by providing a forum and focussing on citizen awareness and participation. Muharram pointed out that encouraging the private sector and civil society to engage in the different projects and expand consumer cooperative services is essential for the enhancement of the country in order to meet its MDGs. The second series of GHDRs was issued in 2006 and comprised 12 reports scanning the Delta governorates of Giza, Gharbiya, Beheira, Daqahliya, Ismailia, North Sinai and Marsa Matrouh. It also surveyed the Upper Egyptian governorates of Sohag, Minya, Beni Sweif, Qena and Aswan. Meanwhile, the first anthology was issued in 2003 and comprised seven reports scanning the governorates of Assiut, Fayoum, Qalioubiya, Sharqiya, Kafr Al-Sheikh as well as Menoufiya and Alexandria.
