CAIRO - To combat poverty by helping poor families, a co-operation protocol has been signed between Misr el-Khair, a charitable institution, and the Ministry of Health, as well as the National Population Council, for setting up a database and geographic information system (GIS) for Egypt's poorest villages, costing LE7.5 million. The project will create 2,000 jobs for young people, engaged in field research for making a digital map of the targeted villages. Creating new jobs is vital, as unemployment has increased since the revolution, because production and tourism have been disrupted. Sheikh Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, says that the project will cover 4,500 very poor villages in Upper Egypt. “In the first stage of the project, 1,030 undeveloped villages in eight Upper Egyptian provinces have been selected,” the Grand Mufti explains, stressing that both Muslims and Christians will benefit. “The project aims at achieving development in poor Upper Egyptian villages on a scientific basis, in the light of the available technology. All the concerned partners, whether governmental authorities or NGOs, will be provided with the necessary data for development,” adds Gomaa, the head of Misr el-Khair's Council of Trustees. Meanwhile, Minister of Health Dr Ashraf Hatem notes that any project has to be scientifically planned, adding that this big project in Upper Egypt has its support. “The National Population Council [NPC], affiliated to the Ministry, was originally concerned only with family planning, but now it is concerned with drawing up a population map of Egypt, in order to improve life for Egyptian citizens, culturally, socially and economically, and also in terms of health. Dr Omayma Edris, NPC Chairwoman, stresses that the Council wants to achieve a geographical balance among the nation's citizens who occupy only 7 per cent of Egypt's landmass. “So one of the things we want to do is to achieve a balanced geographical distribution. Although the birth rate has fallen from 5.7 per cent to 3 per cent, the demographic characteristics of Egyptians need to be improved. “The rate of both poverty and illiteracy is 40 per cent, while unemployment stands at 10 per cent. We want to boost human development and eliminate demographic differences, paying more attention in general to Egyptian citizens,” Dr Omayma explains. Mohssen Mahgoub, a member of Misr el-Khair's Council of Trustees, notes that field research has already been completed into every home in 30 villages. The researcher asks how many people there are in each family; he then asks about their ages, social status, jobs, gender, education, income and any general problems they may have. In order to obtain accurate information about development in Upper Egypt, the researchers are also going to conduct a survey of all establishments and available services there.
