Planning Ministry organizes an expert dialogue on the "Handbook for a Gender-Responsive Plan"

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development organized an expert dialogue via "video conference" technology, on the "conceptual guide for a sustainable development plan responsive to different social groups", which was prepared in cooperation with the "Macroeconomic Reform and Stability" project funded by the United States Agency for International Development.

The dialogue was held with the participation of more than 25 experts and representatives from some ministries and agencies, most notably the College of Economics and Political Science, the National Council for Women, and the National Council for Disability Affairs.


El-Said stated that Egypt's Vision 2030 emphasized achieving justice and equality in rights and opportunities, empowering women, youth, and the neediest groups, as well as supporting the participation of all groups in the development process, pointing to directing public investments of about one billion pounds during the two years (19 / 2020) and (20/2021) to implement 96 development projects for people with special needs.
For his part, Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister to follow up on the sustainable development plan, the efforts made to integrate gender issues into sustainable development plans, pointing out that the guide is a reference document that aims to help ministries and agencies to understand and implement responsive planning for social groups, by identifying the needs of different social groups.
 Accurately, monitoring the development gaps between these groups, and thus directing public spending to meet these gaps, in a way that contributes to achieving Egypt Vision 2030 and the UN goals of sustainable development.

Helmy referred to the "project life cycle", and mentioned that the guide organizes all stages related to the planning and follow-up system, whether about preparing feasibility studies and indicating the impact of projects on these groups or in the stage of project design that takes into account the needs, as well as in the stage of financing and operation, through Providing decent job opportunities for these groups.
The Assistant Minister of Planning stressed the need for initiatives and projects to meet the development gaps related to these groups at the governorate level, pointing to the efforts of some prominent private sector companies to take into account gender issues.For her part, Dr. Heba Youssef, Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, the conceptual framework for responsive planning for social groups, tools and mechanisms for integrating responsive planning into the stages of government programs and projects, the legislative and institutional framework that supports responsive planning in Egypt, and international experiences in this regard and lessons learned from them.In turn, Dr. Rasha Ramadan, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, stressed the need to provide, follow up and update data related to gender, occasionally at all levels, especially that reflects the current situation and the situation of women, in particular, stressing the need for cooperation and solidarity of all governmental and non-governmental agencies (especially the sector Private) in the process of taking into account gender and integrating social groups by providing family-friendly workplaces, such as providing nurseries for children.
In the same context, Dr. Ashraf Maree, General Supervisor of the National Council for Disability Affairs, supervised the importance of continuous monitoring and evaluation to ensure the availability of services in a good and appropriate way for people with disabilities, pointing out that the political leadership's directives regarding counting the numbers of people with disabilities will contribute to providing and updating data.
While Maram Hafez, Director of Finance Department for Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises Companies at the Financial Supervision Authority, referred to the authority’s decisions related to encouraging gender in the private sector, most notably the decision issued last January to amend Article Two to ban companies licensed to engage in non-banking financial activities without Promote equality between men and women.