Vulnerable Children in Egypt Status, Problems, Needs and Services Offered

Final Report, June 2004

ARAB URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...... 2 1. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE...... 6 2. METHODOLOGY ...... 6 3. VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN EGYPT ...... 8

3.1 CHILDREN FROM POOR FAMILIES...... 8 3.1.1. Poverty and Poverty Research in Egypt...... 8 3.1.2 Poverty in Alexandria...... 10 3.1.3 Problems and Issues ...... 13 3.1.4 Legislation and Policy ...... 14 3.1.5 Government Institutions and Services...... 15 3.1.6 Services Offered by NGOs and Private Institutions...... 15 3.1.7 Coverage, Gaps and Capacity-building Needs ...... 16 3.2. WORKING CHILDREN...... 17 3.2.1 Definitions ...... 17 3.2.2 Nature and Scope of Child Labor ...... 18 3.2.3 Problems and Issues ...... 20 3.2.4 Legislation and Policies ...... 20 3.2.5 Responsible Government Agencies and Services ...... 21 3.2.6 NGO Responses to Child Labor ...... 22 3.2.7 Other Actors...... 23 3.2.8 Problems, Gaps and Capacity-building Needs...... 23 3.3 STREET CHILDREN...... 25 3.3.1 Definitions ...... 25 3.3.2 Size and Profile...... 26 3.3.3 Problems and Issues Related to Street Children...... 27 3.3.4 Legislation and Policies ...... 28 3.3.5 Responsible Government Agencies and Services ...... 29 3.3.6 NGO Responses to Street Children...... 29 3.3.7 Coverage, Problems and Capacity-building Needs...... 31 3.4 ORPHANS AND ABANDONED CHILDREN ...... 32 3.4.1 Size and Prevalence of the Phenomenon ...... 32 3.4.2 Problems and Issues ...... 32 3.4.3 Legislation and Policies ...... 34 3.4.4 Responsible Government Agencies and Services ...... 34 3.4.5 Services Offered by NGOs and Private Institutions...... 35 3.4.6 Coverage, Gaps and Capacity-building Needs ...... 36 3.5 CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES ...... 38 3.5.1 Definitions ...... 38 3.5.2 Size and Prevalence of the Phenomenon ...... 39 3.5.3 Problems and Issues ...... 39 3.5.4 Policies and Legislation ...... 40 3.5.5 Responsible Government Institutions and Services...... 41 3.5.6 NGOs and International Donors ...... 42 3.5.7 Coverage, Gaps and Capacity-building Needs ...... 43 3.6 DISPLACED AND REFUGEE CHILDREN ...... 44 3.6.1 Definitions ...... 44 3.6.2 Size of the Phenomenon ...... 46 3.6.3 Problems and Issues ...... 47 3.6.4 Legislation and Policies ...... 48

3.6.5 Responsible Government and International Agencies ...... 49 3.6.6 Services Offered by NGOs ...... 50 3.6.6 Problems, Gaps and Capacity-building Needs...... 50 3.7 THE GIRL CHILD ...... 52 3.7.1 Problems and Issues ...... 52 3.7.2 Legislation and Policies ...... 54 3.7.3 Agencies, Serives and Programs ...... 54 3.7.4 Gaps and Capacity-building Needs ...... 56 4. SUMMARY ASSESSMENT OF SERVICE PROVISION TO VULNERABLE CHILDREN...... 57

4.1 GOVERNMENT SERVICE PROVISION ...... 57 4.2 SERVICE PROVISION BY NGOS AND OTHER ACTORS...... 67 5. OUTLINE OF A CAPACITY-BUILDING PROGRAM ...... 68

5.1 OBJECTIVES ...... 68 5.2 STRATEGIES AND APPROACH ...... 68 5.3 CORE ISSUES AND ENTRY POINTS ...... 69 5.4 PROPOSED PROJECTS ...... 71 6. WORK PLAN...... 78 7. BUDGET...... 79

ANNEXES:

ANNEX 1: NGOS WORKING WITH VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN ALEXANDRIA ANNEX 2: LITERATURE ANNEX 3: LIST OF INTERVIEWS ANNEX 4: LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Distribution of Selected Age Groups in Alexandria city (2003) ...... 11 Table 2: Comparison of Selected Human Development Indicators ...... 12 Table 3: Location of Shiakhas Within Qisms...... 13 Table 4: Summary Poor Children ...... 17 Table 5: Summary Working Children...... 25 Table 6: Summary Street Children ...... 31 Table 7: Summary Orphans and Abandoned Children ...... 38 Table 8: Summary Children with Disabilities ...... 44 Table 9: Summary Displaced and Refugee Children ...... 51 Table 10: Summary Girl Child ...... 56 Table 11: Poor Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers . 59 Table 12: Poor Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches ...... 59 Table 13: Poor Children: Priorities and Possible Actions...... 59 Table 14: Working Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers ...... 60 Table 15: Working Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches...... 60 Table 16: Working Children: Priorities and Possible Actions ...... 60 Table 17: Street Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers61 Table 18: Street Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches ...... 61 Table 19: Street Children: Priorities and Possible Actions...... 61 Table 20: Orphans and Abandoned Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers...... 62 Table 21: Orphans and Abandoned Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches62 Table 22: Orphans and Abandoned Children: Priorities and Possible Actions ...... 62 Table 23: Children with Disabilities: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers...... 63 Table 24: Children with Disabilities: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches ...... 63 Table 25: Children with Disabilities: Priorities and Possible Actions...... 63 Table 26: Refugee and Displaced Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers...... 64 Table 27: Refugee and Displaced Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches . 64 Table 28: Refugee and Displaced Children: Priorities and Possible Actions...... 64 Table 29: Female Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers ...... 65 Table 30: Female Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches ...... 65 Table 31: Female Children: Priorities and Possible Actions ...... 65 Table 32: Crosscutting issues: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches ...... 66 Table 33: Crosscutting issues: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches ...... 66

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ACCD Arab Council for Childhood and Development AHED The Association for Health and Environmental Development AHRLA Association of Human Rights Legal Aid CBR Community based rehabilitation CDA Community Development Associations CEDPA Center for development and population activities CEOSS The Coptic Evangelical Organization For Social Services.....CEOSS DSR Department of Social Rehabilitation EOHR Egyptian Organization for Human Rights ERSAP Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Policy FEI Federation of Egyptian Industries GEACP General Egyptian Association for Child Protection GFTUE General Federation of Trade Unions in Egypt HADCE El Hurriya Association for the Development of the Community and the Environment HISW Higher Institute of Social Work HMLC Hisham Mubarak Center for Legal Aid ILO International Labor Organization JDP Juvenile delinquency police squad M+E monitoring and evaluation MCC Medical Commuter Cards MISA Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs MoA Ministry of Awqaf MoALR Ministry Of Agricultural and Land Reclamation MoE Ministry of Education MoH Ministry of Health MoI Ministry of Interior MoJ Ministry of Justice MoMM Ministry of Manpower and Migration MoP Ministry of Planning MoY Ministry of Youth NCCM National Council for Childhood and Motherhood NCSCS National Center for Social and Criminological Studies NCW National Council of Women NGO Non Governmental Organization NIP The National Institute of Planning OAU Organization of African Unity PPA Participatory Poverty Assessments PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers

SDD Social Defense Department SFD Social Fund For Development SME Small and Micro Enterprises SPIP Social Protection Initiatives Project SUDIA Sudanese Development Initiative Abroad SVTG Sudanese Victims of Torture Group UNCHR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNDP United Nations Development Prograqmme UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency VCT Vocational Training Centers WB World Bank WHO World health organization WTO World Tourism Organization YGEO Young Graduates Employment Organization

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The study team would like to thank all interview partners in the governorate of Alexandria, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, the Arab Council for Childhood and Development, UNICEF, the Population Council as well as NGOs, donor organizations and independent researchers and consultants who devoted their time and provided valuable information.

Special thanks are devoted to Essam Fawzi who has worked extensively on issues related to both child development and institutional structures and capacities of NGOs and development agencies has provided a wealth of unpublished information and raw data.

The study team was composed of

As Principal Investigator, Monika El Shorbagi was responsible for the overall implementation process of he study, from the design, the literature review, the interviews, finding analysis, to the design of the proposed capacity-building program and the final report

As Senior Backstopper, Zohra Merabet provided advice and feedback on the analytical framework and the design of the capacity-building program. She prepared the workplan and budget.

As Subject Matter Specialist, Amr Taha provided valuable information on several aspects of legislation, policies as well as existing studies and documentation, most notably concerning child labor, orphans and abandoned children

Secretarial support was provided by Manal Mounir and Laila Hassan

The analysis of the findings and the recommendations of this study reflect our understanding of the current issues and key priorities based on interviews with the major stakeholders and an extensive literature review. The timeframe of this study did not enable the Consultant to manage a participatory consultation process with the stakeholders and integrate their input in the proposed capacity building program.

Monika El Shorbagi Principal Investigator April 22, 2004

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Executive Summary

1 Background and Objective The study has been carried out in preparation of the MENA Child Protection Program, hosted at the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI) which will be implemented in ten Arab cities, including Alexandria. The program is intended to enhance the capacities of municipal agencies and some NGOs to close service gaps and increase the outreach, effectiveness and efficiency of existing services offered to vulnerable and disadvantaged children, notably poor children, working children, street children, children with disabilities, orphans and abandoned children, refugee and displaced children and the girl child.

2 Methodology The study is based on the analysis of information obtained through a review of existing studies and statistical data as well as written documentation of existing projects and programs, interviews with representatives of relevant governmental and non-governmental service providers, expert interviews and raw material of previous studies conducted by the Consultant.

3 Findings (1) Poor children: Figures on poverty incidence vary considerably in different poverty studies which is mainly due to the wide range of methodologies applied. Calculations based on CAPMAS population figures and the Alexandria Human Development Report indicate that the number of poor children in Alexandria exceeds 130,000 children, including more than 25,000 children of ultra-poor families. There is a lack of information on poverty in poor urban areas. It is known, however, that families with illiterate or female household heads, as well as families depending on income from casual labor and households with high dependency ratios are more likely to be poor. Poor children are particularly vulnerable to dropping out of school and working at an early age but also to becoming involved in street life due to neglect and family break-ups. No national strategy is in place to address issues related to poor children and poverty tends to be inherited. Various mechanisms of poverty alleviation play an important role but are not sufficient to reduce poverty significantly in the near future.

(2) Working children: Estimates of the prevalence of child labor vary considerably according to definition and methodology used in different studies. They range between roughly 850,000 and more than 2.5 million. All studies highlight the strong relation between poverty and child labor. Around one third of working boys are still enrolled in school. Calculations for girls are more complicated since many of them work in the household or as unpaid family laborers. There is a strong correlation between child labor, poverty and low education. Many children work under extremely stressful or even hazardous working conditions with serious implications for the physical and psychological development. A national strategy to combat child labor has been elaborated but is not implemented yet. The Child Law of 1996 includes detailed provisions for working children and several institutional mechanisms have been recently set up as to enforce the law. There are also a number of programs offering remedial education and vocational training as alternatives to working children. NGOs have started to address the underlying causes of child labor and offer credit and other support to poor families to reduce child labor incidence. So far, however, many programs are not sufficiently effective, both concerning outreach and impact.

(3) Street children There is a serious lack of information on the number of street children as well as their movements and living conditions. No estimates are available for Alexandria. Among the most important

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reasons for children becoming involved in street life are neglect, family break-ups and domestic violence. Street children tend to receive no education and vocational training and do usually not have any access to health care services. They are particularly vulnerable of being exploited and abused. The law still labels street children as “vulnerable to delinquency”, thus reinforcing social stigmatization which leads to isolation and exclusion. Arrest, maltreatment and violence are daily experiences of street children. Recently, a national strategy to protect, integrate and rehabilitate street children has been elaborated but is not yet implemented. NGOs play a prominent role in offering services to street children within a range of innovative initiatives. However, they are only able to capture a fraction of street children in need of protection.

(4) Orphans and abandoned children Although no comprehensive figures are available, the incidence of abandoned children seems to be on the rise. Reasons include an increase in poverty, illegitimate sexual relations and family break-ups. There are two systems of care for orphans and abandoned children: institutionalized care is prevailing over family-based foster care. Institutions are usually run by NGOs and are supervised by the Ministry of Social Affairs as are foster families. Most children in institutions are disadvantaged in terms of education, vocational training and health care and often deprived of other opportunities which are crucial to develop their potentials such as psychological care, affection, recreation, cultural activities and participation in social and community life. Maltreatment and violence are problems which are not uncommon in both care institutions and foster families. Most problems of service delivery are related to capacity gaps and gaps in supervision but also to the predominance of isolative and welfare-oriented instead of inclusive, participatory and rights- based approaches.

(5) Children with disabilities No comprehensive data is available on disabilities in Egypt. Estimates of disability incidence range from 3.5% to 10%. Calculations based on estimates of the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood, would yield an incidence of roughly 95,000 children with disabilities in Alexandria. The problems of these children are mainly related to rehabilitation, education and vocational training as well as stigmatization and exclusion all of which seriously obstruct the development of children’s full potential. Traditionally, policies were based on medical concerns rather on rights-based approaches and focused on curative services at the expense of prevention and early detection and intervention. NGOs have played a pioneer role in introducing preventive measures, community-based rehabilitation and inclusive education models as effective and cost- efficient approaches. Their experiences are reflected in the national strategy to address issues related to disabilities which has started to influence existing government services. The existing programs are, however, neither sufficient in terms of outreach nor in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

(6) Refugee and displaced children There is no Egyptian agency dealing with refugees who have only the option to apply to the UNHCR to be officially recognized and referred to other countries for permanent settlement. The number of officially acknowledged refugees is estimated at about 80,000 plus around 12,000 with pending cases. However, the total number is estimated to be much higher since many refugees do not have sufficient documentation to prove their cases and do therefore not address the UNHCR at all. The majority comes from Sudan, Somalia and Palestine but also from a variety of 35 other countries. Non-recognized refugees and refugee children, in particular, are not entitled to any kind of government-subsidized services or legal work. Thus, children suffer from a variety of problems such as lack of education and vocational training, numerous health problems including psychological disorders and traumata. They are also largely excluded from social and community life and vulnerable to violence and abuse. Some NGOs and churches have started to offer services which are, however, far from sufficient and sometimes low in quality. Refugees and their children are concentrated in Cairo and it can be assumed that their numbers in Alexandria are

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rather low. It is thus proposed not include this group of children in the MENA child protection program.

(7) Female children Existing gender discrimination places female children at double risk of being deprived of rights and development chances. Educational levels of females are still below those of their male counterparts, female circumcision continues to be a prevalent practice in all social strata, significant numbers of girls are still subjected to early marriage and forced marriages as well as social discrimination and constraints of their freedom of movement and opportunities to engage in public activities and girls are also more vulnerable to violence and abuse. Problems of children in all vulnerable groups tend to be more severe for girls. Considerable efforts have been made in recent years by both governmental and non-governmental actors to improve the status and chances of female children, particularly with regard to education, combating female circumcision and gender stereotypes and increasing girls’ life skills. Although much remains to be done, it is proposed to treat issues related to the girls child as cross-cutting issues which will be tackled with a mainstreaming approach.

4. Summary Assessment of Protection and Services Offered to Vulnerable Children

(1) Government service provision There is no overall strategy for the protection of vulnerable children and thus non mainstreaming strategy. The distinct needs of the different sub-groups of vulnerable children are thus not or not systematically incorporated in physical and socio-economic planning and program design. Effective planning is further impeded by a serious lack of accurate quantitative and qualitative data and research. Almost all existing programs dealing directly or indirectly with vulnerable children suffer from a lack of financial and human resources. Problems with effectiveness and efficiency of existing services are mainly related to inappropriate approaches and strategies, lack understanding, commitment, qualification and experience as well as lack of coordination and cooperation.

Capacity-building needs exist on many levels: data collection and research, conceptual understanding and program design, organization and management, implementation and supervision, monitoring and evaluation. Impact assessment capacities are particularly weak. There is a serious lack of coordination among different governmental agencies. Cooperation with NGOs exists, however, it is weak and mainly based on personal relations rather than institutional mechanisms.

(2) Interventions of NGOs and other actors NGOs play an important role in addressing certain problems and needs of vulnerable children. However, they are neither able to capture all children in need of protection nor to tackle the whole range of problems and needs. This is largely due to a shortage of financial and human resources, partially also to constraints due to the dynamics of donor-funded projects. Many interventions are isolated, lack participatory approaches and are not rooted in local communities. This limits their effectiveness in view of the multiple dimensions of problems related to vulnerable children which call for multi-component interventions and close cooperation of different actors.

Institutional, technical and management capacities vary considerably among different NGOs which can be classified into three major categories: (1) traditional, welfare-oriented NGOs that operate in different areas or even city-wide. They tend to have well-connected boards but often deficiencies in institutional management and effective program design (2) professional NGOs that have either been founded initially as branches of international NGOs or by academics and professionals. Usually, they have a smaller membership base, active boards and rather efficient management systems. (3) Community development associations which with varying degrees of

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ambitions and outreach. Many of them lack institutional, management and technical capacities and funding.

5. Recommendations for a Capacity-building Program

Since it has been found that current strategies and approaches are largely inadequate to ensure the effectiveness of service delivery, the objectives of the capacity-building program should be output-oriented as well as process-oriented, i.e. the program should increase conceptual, technical and management skills but should promote also participatory approaches and close cooperation of different actors who link their individual interventions within a common strategic framework. Capacity-building itself should be conceptualized as a participatory process that increases the sense of joint responsibility and provides learning experiences through a combination of structured training inputs, guided action and assessment of impacts.

The four proposed projects are designed to address all major technical, conceptual and relational capacity-building needs. The first project, the establishment of a Child Protection Information and Training Center, plays a prominent role insofar as it is envisaged to become a permanent mechanisms for the collection and circulation of information, human resource development, coordination of efforts and funding. It includes a secretariat which is in charge of overall coordination and management issues. The project has also an Initiative Fund attached to it which is conceptualized as a flexible instrument to finance or co-finance innovative projects which are envisaged to be developed in a permanent process. The fund shall also enhance joint responsibility for resource management. The different components of the other three proposed projects shall be financed out of this fund. The Project for the Protection of the Working Child is envisaged to provide a model for multi-component interventions involving different actors who work together within a common strategic framework. The Social Protection and Inclusion Initiative addresses problems which have not been addressed so far, namely violence and social exclusion with a focus on street children, orphans and abandoned children. It includes also qualitative research as an important area of capacity-building. The Well-child Checkup Initiative focuses on children with disabilities and concentrates on mechanisms of effective community involvement. The project includes also a baseline study and an impact assessment to provide crucial skills in the areas of monitoring and evaluation.

The total estimated cost of the program is US$ 853,414.- for period of three years. The budget does not specify the expected contributions of different partners. It is assumed that agreements on contributions need further discussions and negotiations between AUDI, Alexandria governorate and potential other partners.

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1. Background and Objective This study has been carried out from mid-March through mid-April 2004 in preparation of the MENA Child Protection Program, hosted at the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI) and sponsored by the World Bank. The program is envisaged to be implemented in ten Arab cities, namely Algiers, Alexandria, Amman, Beirut, Casablanca, Khartoum, Kuwait City, Ramallah, Riyadh and Sana’a. It will support selected municipal agencies and other relevant actors to enhance their capacities to address problems and needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged children. They are defined as

ƒ poor children ƒ working children ƒ street children ƒ children with disabilities ƒ orphans and abandoned children ƒ refugee and displaced children and ƒ the girl child

The objective of the study is to provide specific recommendations for the design of a capacity- building program which will be organized and financed by AUDI. Tasks include an outline of the status of vulnerable and disadvantaged children as defined above, an overview of existing programs and service providers as well as an assessment of their capacity-building needs, including recommendations concerning the approach to capacity-building, core issues to be covered and participants to be included into the program. 2. Methodology Information on the size of different sub-groups of vulnerable children, their social, health, and educational status as well as other relevant socio-economic characteristics was extracted out of the population census, figures provided by governmental agencies, published socio-economic research and studies as well as internal reports of relevant NGOs and donor agencies. Information on services offered to vulnerable and disadvantaged children by governmental and non-governmental institutions was obtained by collecting and reviewing written documentation as well as by conducting interviews with representatives of the most relevant agencies and organizations working in the field, both in Alexandria and Cairo.

Expert interviews were an important instrument to obtain information on the outreach, effectiveness and problems related to existing services, institutional set-up, function, management and problems of governmental and non-governmental agencies as well as links and interfaces between and among these agencies. Some interviewees have asked to have their names withheld. In accordance with standard practice of qualitative research, these persons are referred to with letters instead of their names.

A questionnaire was designed to assess the organizational structure, institutional expertise and human resources of NGOs. However, it turned out that time constraints made it difficult for most NGOs to fill in the questionnaire at relatively short notice. Junior executive staff was not familiar with most of the information requested and senior executives were too busy since many of them were involved in preparations for major events. Only four did actually hand in questionnaires, most of them with crucial information missing. Thus, the questionnaire proved to be little useful and only some information has been used. Instead, in-depth interviews have been conducted with altogether eight NGOs.

There were a number of difficulties in collecting information which were mainly due to the short time frame of one month for the study. Although the governor of Alexandria has already agreed on the MENA Child Protection Program and was informed about the study, the governorate directorates in Alexandria were reluctant to release detailed information and did not provide

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statistics and written information except for a list of orphanages and NGOs working with children with disabilities. They asked for written requests from their respective ministries which were too time-consuming to obtain. Although all contacts to NGOs in Alexandria have been facilitated by persons who have cooperated with these NGO before, several NGOs have asked for letters from the Ministry of Social Affairs as a condition to hand out written documents. Two NGOs refused to give any information arguing that they are only interested in concrete offers of cooperation including funding. The other NGOs have been very helpful, however, they were hesitant to talk about problems presumably assuming that this would limit their future prospective to be eligible for funding.

In view of these constraints, the Consultant included information which has been collected during previous studies she has undertaken, namely research on the background, development, institutional set-up and problems of different types of NGOs in Egypt, an extensive field study in 64 informal settlements in Cairo and Alexandria as well as two poverty studies, an in-depth study of community development associations in poor urban areas in Cairo and various needs assessments and impact assessments.1 She has also relied on her experience of six years as community development specialist and deputy project manager in an upgrading and development project in Manshiet Nasser/Cairo as well as a number of short-term assignments in Boulaq El Dakrour/Giza, both poor informal areas. The projects were directly located in the district of Manshiet Nasser and the governorate of Giza and involved daily interaction and cooperation with the directorates and district departments of the different line ministries as well as with numerous NGOs, development agencies such as the SFD and donors. The wealth of information on the functioning of local administration and NGOs is documented in internal reports as well as notes and a diary of the Consultant.

The report has been structured as follows: Section 3 gives a detailed outline of the status of different sub-groups of vulnerable children, the nature of the problems they face, relevant policies and legislation, an overview of governmental and non-governmental service providers as well as an outline of gaps and deficiencies in effectiveness and efficiency of existing programs. Section 4 includes a concise summary analysis of governmental and non-governmental approaches and strategies with detailed reference to gaps and problems, including an analysis of the underlying factors. It includes also a summary profile of non-governmental service providers, their institutional set-up, strategies, outreach, problems, role and potentials. Section 5 gives an outline of the proposed capacity-building program, including objectives, strategies and approach, core issues and possible entry points as well as proposed program components and participating agencies.

1 Reports on these assignments include (selection): M. El Shorbagi, History, Development and Problems of NGOs in Egypt (in German), Berlin 1997, M.A. thesis (unpublished) – M. El Shorbagi, Urban Real Estate and Informal Practices in Greater Cairo and Alexandria, prepared for ILD/Egyptian Real Estate Formalization Project, Cairo 2000, as well as contributions to the Strategic Development Plans and Long-term Budget Plans of Manshiet Nasser and Boulaq El Dakrour

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3. Vulnerable Children in Egypt

3.1 Children from Poor Families

3.1.1. Poverty and Poverty Research in Egypt In-depth poverty research in Egypt is comparatively new. Most poverty studies have been carried out during the past 10 years. Poverty is usually defined in terms of household consumption using an absolute poverty line as a reference which is calculated on the basis of the cost of basic needs approach. Most poverty studies in Egypt indicate that poverty is shallow, i.e. a comparatively large percentage of households are concentrated around the poverty line. Consequently, even small definitional or methodological variations can lead to considerable differences in estimates of poverty incidence.

Income or consumption-based poverty lines are the most widespread instruments to measure poverty. In Egypt, figures on poverty incidence are usually based on lower poverty lines2. The most recent national poverty lines have been constructed for two large national poverty studies, one sponsored by the World Bank (WB) and carried out by the National Institute of Planning (NIP) in 20023, the other sponsored by UNDP and carried out by the Egyptian Ministry of Planning (MoP) in 2003.4 Both studies include household-specific as well as per capita consumption-based poverty lines.

The WB/INP study introduced a new methodology of constructing household poverty lines which has been adopted and up-dated for the UNDP/MoP study. It accounts for diverse ‘basic needs’ requirements and consumption patterns depending on size and location of the household as well as age and gender composition. Consequently, there is no unified national poverty line but individual poverty lines have been constructed for each type of household considering the distinct needs of young versus old and male versus female household members, differences in rural versus urban and metropolitan areas as well as the fact that non-food items can be shared among household members.

For the most common types of households in metropolitan areas lower poverty lines have been constructed as follows:

WB/NIP: 2 adults 2 children: LE 4,088 per household per year 2 adults 3 children: LE 5,252 per household per year adult female, 2 children: LE 3,433 per household per year

UNDP/MoP: 2 adults 2 children: LE 4,466 per household per year 2 adults 3 children: LE 5,681 per household per year adult female, 2 children: LE 3,233 per household per year

The WB/NIP study estimates overall poverty at 16.74% and poverty in metropolitan areas at 5.1%. The UNDP/MoP study an average poverty incidence at the national level of 20.4% and for metropolitan areas of 5.72%. All estimates refer to objective lower poverty lines. According to the latter study, the percentage of the poor jumps to 43.8% if upper poverty lines are applied which

2 Lower poverty line means that all household expenditures are equal to the food poverty line which is set as the cost of a normative 'basic needs' bundle of goods determined on the basis of calorie requirements and consumption patterns of the poor. Upper poverty line means that food expenditures are equal to the food poverty line 3 The World Bank/Ministry of Planning, June 2002 4 UNDP/Ministry of Planning, April 2003

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means that almost 29.3 Million Egyptians are poor. The 2003 Egyptian Human Development Report (EHDR)5 indicates an overall incidence of household poverty of 20.1% with poverty estimates in metropolitan areas reaching 8.8%.

There are serious doubts concerning the reported low poverty incidence in urban areas6. This might be partially due to sampling and survey methodology but also to the relatively low poverty lines used. The poverty lines of the WB/NIP and UNDP/MoP studies for the prevalent family type 2 adults with 2 children are lower than the unified national lower poverty line which has been constructed in 1995 for the EHDR 1996 and is still used in the EHDR 2003, i.e. LE 4,567 per household per year.7 Today, after the Egyptian Pound has lost more than half of its value against the Dollar and the Euro and Egyptian families have had to cope with drastic price increases during the past five years, a monthly household income of less than LE 400 or roughly 60 US$ for four persons seems to very low.

Various independent studies of consumption poverty in Egypt which have been carried out in the second half of the 1990ies give significantly higher percentages of the population living in poverty even if lower poverty lines are applied. Estimates range from 27% to 48%, especially when calculated on a headcount basis.8 The Human Development Index shows that, while Egypt ranked 112 of 174 countries in 1998, there has in fact been a slow but steady improvement over the last two decades. It also shows that Upper Egypt scores significantly lower than the rest of the country.9 Nevertheless, the alleged drastic drop in urban poverty suggested in the two recent studies remains largely unexplained.

There is a general serious lack of in-depth analysis of urban poverty in Egypt. Poverty studies rely almost exclusively on governorate aggregates. This conceals considerable variations within urban governorates which is particularly distorting for Greater Cairo and Alexandria where the bulk of the country’s rich and wealthy families are living. Several studies assume that, in absolute terms, the incidence of poverty and ultra-poverty10 is much higher in informal and other types of poor urban areas than in any other category.11 According to the EHDR 1997/98, the overall percentage of urban poor (22.5%) is almost matching that of rural areas (23.3%)12. If the census definitions of urban areas in Egypt were adjusted to reflect the reality of urbanization, poverty in metropolitan cities could actually be greater in absolute terms than in rural areas.13 A representative sample survey carried out in 1998 found that the monthly income of 68% of all households in Greater Cairo was less than LE 500 (at the time ca. 139 US $ per month or 1.14 US $ per day), an amount which places them in the middle between the lower and the upper poverty lines

5 EHDR 2003 6 It cannot be excluded that political concerns play a role in the design of poverty studies. The GoE is under considerable pressure to counter criticism of the negative effects on the poor of the Egyptian Reform and Structural Adjustment Program which is being implemented since the beginning of the 1990. The manipulation of statistics is relatively easy given the shallow nature of poverty in Egypt, i.e. the clustering of a large percentage of Egyptians around the poverty line, so that even slight differences in methodology may yield significant differences in results 7 At the time roughly 1,305 US$ per household p.a. or 0.88 US$ per person per day. The upper poverty line was estimated at LE 6,082, roughly 1,789 US$ per household p.a. or 1.21 US$ per person per day. 8 Handousa 1999, pp 3 - 4. For a complete discussion and evaluation of the various studies on consumption poverty in Egypt, see Assaad and Rouchdy, 1998, Appendix A, pp 70 - 73 9 Institute of National Planning 1998, p. 14 and p. 127. 10 Those who are below the food poverty line are considered as “ultra-poor” since they are not able to satisfy their minimum nutritional needs even if they would spend all their income only on food 11 Assad and Rouchdy 1999, p.17, Datt et al. 1998, Table 3 and following pages 12 Institute of National Planning 1998, p.142. Some poverty estimates, particularly those calculated on a headcount basis in studies on consumption poverty, are significantly higher (e.g. Handoussa 1999, p. 3-4) 13 Problems related to administrative definitions of urban areas are for example described in Bayat and Denis 1998, p. 9

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constructed for the EHDR 1996.14 The extent of poverty in urban low-income areas is partially confirmed by the EHDR 2003 which includes for the first time a breakdown of human development indicators on the level of rural and urban administrative units below governorate level (hay, qism and merkaz).

If asset poverty and capacity-poverty are taken into account, the picture may be even more dramatic given the relatively higher and increasing demands of skills in urban labor markets such as computer literacy and foreign languages. The effects of capacity-poverty are thus much more severe in metropolitan than in other urban and certainly than in rural areas. Several studies describe the correlation between poverty and the high drop-out rates (51%) of children from poor families from primary education. Many of them are working in small and micro enterprises in informal settlements (see section below).15 The poor in urban areas face some distinct problems, e.g. increasing difficulties to find housing and afford the expenses of marriage and the formation of new households.

3.1.2 Poverty in Alexandria

3.1.2.1 Boundaries and Population The total inhabited area of Alexandria governorate is 2,818.77 km2, including agricultural areas of nearly 775.33 km2 and arable land of 474.6 km2. Urban built-up areas are spread over 1,567.8 km2 and represent 55.6% of the total surface area, including industrial use and public utilities.

Alexandria has six urban districts, Hay Gharb, Hay Gumruk, Hay Wasat, Hay Sharq, Hay Montazah and Hay Al Ameriya. The latter four include some areas with rural characteristics. The boundaries of the 13 urban census enumeration districts of Alexandria city do not correspond to the administrative districts. The qisms in Alexandria city are El Montazah, El Raml, Sidi Gaber, Bab El Sharq, Moharram Bek, El Attarin, El Manshiya, Karmooz, El Labban, El Gumruk, Mina El Basal, El Dekheila and El Ameriya. Both districts and qisms are subdivided into shiakhas that are, however, not identical.16

The total population of Alexandria reached 3,768,400 inhabitants in 2001, including 32,900 residents in rural areas who represent 8.7% of the total population. 1,929.200 of the inhabitants are males and 1,839.200 females, representing 51.2% and 48.8% of the total population of the governorate respectively. The growth rate during the period between 1996 and 2001 was 1.7%. Differences in growth rates among qisms are rather insignificant with El Dekheila, a squatter settlement to the West showing the highest growth rate, i.e. 1.703%, and the inner-city area of Bab El Sharq with 1.688% the lowest growth rate. The number of residents in different qisms vary considerably, i.e. between 942,100 (El Montazah) and 28.900 (El Manshiya).

If the growth rate of the period between 1996 and 2001 is applied to the subsequent two years, the total population of Alexandria city (excluding areas outside the city boundaries)17 in 2003 amounts to 2,931,434 including 1,232,117 children between 0 and 18 years, representing 39.9% of the total population. Table 1 shows the number of children calculated for 2003, broken down into age groups

14 Nassar 1999, p.22-23

15 El Baradei 1995, p.28 and p.64, Fergany 1995, p.23 16 For a complete list of qism shiakhas refer to the Alexandria Human Development Report 2003 17 The census does not indicate the city boundaries. To calculate the population of Alexandria city, the qisms of Burg El Arab, Burg El Arab El Gidida and El Amiriya have been excluded. The calculation is, however, not exact since El Amiriya has urban parts adjacent to Alexandria’s core areas and other qisms in turn encompass some parts with rural features

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Table 1: Distribution of Selected Age Groups in Alexandria city (2003)

age groups male female total % of total < 1 7,932 7,449 15,381 0.5% 1-4 years 123,762 119,090 242,851 8.3% 5-9 years 159,954 152,050 312,004 10.6% 10-14 years 176,764 167,997 344,761 11.8% 15-18 years 129,429 124,267 253,696 8.7% total 0-18 years 597,840 570,853 1,168,693 39.9% total population 1,495,562 1,435,872 2,931,434 100.0%

3.1.2.2 Poverty Indicators The WB/INP poverty report indicates that poverty in Alexandria fell from 23.2 percent in 1995/1996 to just 6.2 percent in 1999/2000. This amazing decrease is not sufficiently explained and raises doubts as to whether it is rather due to differences in methodology. As mentioned above, various NGOs and independent researchers have contested the results of the WB/INP study, referring particularly to indicators of increasing poverty in poor informal areas in the urban centers. Many such settlements are spread like a belt around the core urban areas of Alexandria. The WB/INP report itself points to the fact that gaps in income distribution have increased in metropolitan agglomerations.

According to the EHDR 2003, poverty incidence in Alexandria is higher than the average in urban governorates18 and Alexandria’s real GDP per capita occupies a place in the middle between the national and the urban governorate average. The percentage of the poor is estimated at 11.3%. When applying this percentage on a head-count basis to 2003 population figures, the total number of poor inhabitants in Alexandria city amounts to 331,252 and the number of the ultra- poor to 70,354 in 2003. The number of poor children amounts to 132,062, including 28,049 who have to be considered as ultra-poor.

The Alexandria Human Development Report (AHDR) 200319 shows that Alexandria as a whole figures favorably on the national scale in terms of human development, however, geographic breakdowns lead to a more differentiated poverty assessment. In terms of overall human development, Alexandria occupies the last place among the four urban governorates. The report does not include poverty estimates calculated on the basis of poverty lines20 but is based on human development indicators (HDI) with results broken down into districts, qisms and qism shiakhas. The HDI quoted below refer to qisms and qism shiakhas which are more detailed than the district breakdowns. When lowest and highest indicators at the shiakha level are mentioned, only qisms within Alexandria city have been considered and the qism of Al Amiriya was also excluded since it consists largely of areas which are located outside the core urban fabric of Alexandria.

The HDIs indicate that the overall participation in the labor force in Alexandria is considerably higher than the average in urban governorates Women’s participation is, however, more than one percentage point lower and the female unemployment rate is slightly higher. As Egypt as a whole, and to a lesser but still significant extent all other urban governorates, Alexandria has to expect higher youth unemployment in the future as indicated by the future labor force replacement rate.

18 The urban governorates Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Ismailiya are urban agglomerations that include some areas outside the urban built up centers, namely 19 AHDR 2003 20 the figures below are taken from the EHDR 2003

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Gross primary school enrolment rates in Alexandria are higher than both the national and urban governorate average with females as percentage of males figures being slightly less favorable than in other metropolitan areas. The same applies to the percentage of the population holding secondary school degrees and higher. Illiteracy rates are also slightly higher than the urban governorate average. The percentage of girls enrolled in primary schools is in most shiakhas less than that of boys. However, at preparatory school and secondary school level gross female enrolment ratios exceed those of boys in almost all shiakhas although the female population constitutes less than half the total population. This suggests that school drop-out is more wide- spread among boys than among girls. Health indicators in Alexandria, particularly maternal mortality and infant mortality rates, are remarkably better than the average in metropolitan areas.

Among the 451 districts (hay and merkaz) in Egypt, the two hay in Alexandria with the highest and the lowest HDI are ranked 36 (Hay Wasat) and 44 (Hay Gumruk), indicating a relatively low discrepancy in human development among districts in Alexandria. However, if comparisons are made on qism shiakha level, it becomes evident that there are in fact considerable disparities, both among qisms and inside qisms. The shiakha Khorshid El Qibliya with the lowest human capacity formation indicators, for example, is located in the same qism, El Raml, as the shiakha with the best health indicators, Bolokly. Details of selected HDI are shown in Table 2 (all figures taken from the EHDR and AHDR 2003). Table 3 indicates the location of the shiakhas mentioned within qisms:

Table 2: Comparison of Selected Human Development Indicators

HD indicator all Alex highest lowest Egypt urban gov. Human Development Index 0.741 Sidi Gaber 0.768 Khorshid El Qibliya 0.638 0.680 0.756 Rank of governorates/shiakhas 4 Bolokly 1 Abees 126 ------Poor persons (% of total population) 11.3 n.a. -- n.a. -- 20.1 9.0 Ultra poor (% of total population) 2.4 n.a. -- n.a. -- 5.8 2.1 Real GDP per Capita (in PPP$) 7,372 Al Masala Gharb 8,773 El Manshiya El Bahariya 6,108 5,060.9 9,216.5 % of population in labor force (15+) 31.5 Sidi Bishr Bahary 67.5 El Tawfiqiya 24.9 18.5 24.2 Women in labor force (as % of total) 18.1 Sidi Bishr Bahary 64.7 El Tawfiqiya 1.9 15.4 19.5 Unemployment rate 7.4 El Manshiya El Kubra 16.5 El Tawfiqiya 1.4 9.0 7.5 Female unemployment rate 12.8 El Keradahy 44.7 Gama’ Sultan 4.1 19.8 12.0 Future labor force replacement rate 174.2 Abees 256.4 El Manshiya El Kubra 83.6 223.6 170.5 Enrolment in primary school (gross) 105.2 El Birka 115.1 El Keradahy 98.8 91.7 97.6 Female enrolment in primary school 102.6 El Birka 112.2 El Tawfiqiya 96.7 89.9 96.5 Primary enrolment females as % of males 94.4 El Birka 103.2 El Keradahy 88.7 93.2 97.8 Preparatory enrolment females as % of males 100.2 El Birka 109.5 El Karadahy 94.1 91.9 100.9 Secondary school degree 36.4 Sidi Gaber 56.3 El Tawfiqiya 4.2 29.3 41.3 Female secondary school degree 33.2 Abu El Nweer 88.3 Khorshid El Qibliya 26.4 23.5 37.2 Illiteracy rate (15+) 20.4 Khorshid El Qibliya 53.5 Bolokly 4.4 34.4 19.3 Female illiteracy rate (15+) 26.5 Bolokly+Abul Nwaneer 6.1 Abees 57.6 45.8 25.2 Maternal mortality rate p. 100 T life births 58.7 EL Marghany 67.2 El Manshiya El Kubra 29.6 60.7 88.9 Infant mortality rate p. 1,000 life births 26.1 El Haggary 64.9 Hekr El Nawatiya 12.4 30.0 36.6 Child mortality < 5 years 37.8 El Balkatria 89.2 Hekr El Nawatiya 18.0 35.6 37.6 Children < 5 underweighted 9.5 El Riada 31.3 3 areas1 0.3 8.8 11.5 Life expectancy at birth 67.9 7 areas2 68.2 4 areas3 65.4 67.1 68.1 Life expectancy at birth for females 69.5 7 areas4 69.4 4 areas5 66.5 68.1 69.0 1= El Tawfiqiya – El Manshiya Bahary – El Keradahy 2= Abu Qir El Sharqiya - El Nasriya – Khorshid El Qibliya - El Riada - Bab Sharq/Waboor El Miah - Bab Sedra/Barni Gharb - Kabo El Mallah 3= El Naga’a El Qadim - El Naga’a El Gedid - Haret El Farahda - El Wardian Qibly 4= Abu Qir El Sharqiya – El Nasriya – Khorshid El Qibliya – El Riada – Bab Sharq/Waboor El Miah – Bab Sedra/Barni Gharb – Kabo El Mallah 5= El Nag’a El Gedid – El Nag’a El Qadim – Haret El Farahda – El Wardian Qibl

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Table 3: Location of Shiakhas Within Qisms

Shiakha Qism Shiakha Qism Sidi Gaber Sidi Gaber El Marghany El Attarin Bolokly Sidi Gaber El Masala Gharb El Attarin Abu Nweer Sidi Gaber Khorshid El Qibliya El Raml El Riada Sidi Gaber Hekr El Nawatiya El Raml Sidi Bishr Bahary El Nozha El Naga’ El Qadim El Labban El Keradahy El Nozha El Birka El Gumruk El Tawfiqiya El Nozha El Balkatriya El Gumruk Abu Qir El Qibliya El Nozha El Kaggary El Gumruk El Manshiya Bahary El Nozha Kabo El Mallah El Gumruk Gama’ Sultan Karmuz Abees Moharram Bek El Manshiya El Kubra El Manshiya

3.1.3 Problems and Issues (1) Profile of the poor: Families with illiterate household heads, high dependency ratios, families depending on income from casual labor, women-headed households and physically or mentally handicapped are more likely to be poor and more vulnerable to crisis. Besides the unemployed, the groups most susceptible to poverty include a large group of wage earners. Wages are often too low to lift a family out of poverty, particularly in the informal sector which absorbs the majority of the poor workers. Many studies have highlighted the fact that underemployment is more wide- spread among the poor than unemployment.

(2) Deprivation and “inheritance” of poverty: Numerous studies point to the fact that many poor children suffer from health and nutritious problems. They are deprived of recreational, cultural and educational activities since parents cannot afford to pay for them. Children of poor families are likely to remain poor when they grow up. They are also more likely to drop out of school, work at an early age or even become street children as a consequence of neglect, family break-ups or other social problems which are strongly correlated with poverty.

(3) High vulnerability to crisis: Moderately poor families may lose all their assets due to crisis such as death, illness, the breakdown of a family business or loss of job and families without assets may find themselves chronically indebted or fall into long-term destitution. Traditional coping strategies like kinship and neighborhood solidarity or revolving credit and saving schemes (gama’iyas) are continuously being weakened due to the increase in nuclear families, urban anonymity and rising material consumption. The main assets of the poor in urban areas are housing, encompassing secure tenure, as well as productive assets such as workshops, shops and stalls, simple machinery, craftsmen tools and household appliances. In times of crisis, families tend to cut down on expenditures for food and education and/or to sell some of these assets which often cushions the effects of crisis in the short term but aggravates poverty in the longer term.

(4) Exclusion and perpetuation of poverty: In recent years, the de facto exclusion of the poor from many social and economic services and from participation in community and political life has received increasing attention in Egyptian poverty studies. Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPA) are used to include self-perceptions of the poor in order to obtain additional insights about coping strategies as well as the multidimensionality of poverty and the interaction of various aspects.21 PPAs have identified, for example, that the poor are very well aware of poverty aspects beyond the material dimension, particularly the denial of social status, dignity and

21 See for example Holland 1999 and UNDP/MoP 2003

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autonomy. Hierarchical structures exist in urban as well as in rural communities. They are based on perceived social status in terms of economic positions, ownership of land and real estate, evident consumption levels and obvious religious practices. The individual’s position in these social hierarchies has a strong influence on chances regarding employment positions, access to services and assets. Social hierarchies can thus play an important role to institutionalize and perpetuate poverty. While the poor are to a certain extent protected through networks, patronage and charity, their lack of autonomy and dignity is at the same time continuously reinforced.22

3.1.4 Legislation and Policy No legislation or policies exist in Egypt which target poor children in particular. Policies are mainly targeted at the household or poor adult individuals. Poverty alleviation has been included as a prominent national goal in the present five-year plan. Supported by the World Bank, the Ministry of Planning is working on a national strategy for poverty alleviation based on the model of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) which have already been elaborated for a number of other developing countries. The strategy is supposed to give orientations for pro-poor planning and pro-poor spending of public resources as well as better targeting.

The safety-net in Egypt is the most important policy instrument to protect the poor and alleviate poverty, although it is far from being sufficient in terms of targeting and resources. The core elements are cash transfer payments through a number of non-contributory pension schemes, most prominently (1) pensions according to law 30/1977, modified by law 88/1996 for widows, divorced females, orphans, prisoners’ families, the totally disabled and the elderly, (2) pensions according to law 112/1980 covering members of the labor force who are not otherwise covered by social security schemes, (3) the Sadat Pension (introduced 1980) targeting mainly those above 65 years who are totally disabled and (4) the Mubarak Social Solidarity Program (launched in 1996) which targets families with an income of less than LE 100 as well as unemployed youth, the handicapped, the disabled and people who are permanently and seriously sick, (1) article 49 of the Child Law No. 12/1996 which entitles certain groups of children to monthly pensions, mainly orphans, children of divorcees who marry again or whose father is in prison for at least 10 years,.

Other policy measures aim at upgrading the physical and social infrastructure in poor areas as well as at increasing income by extending credit or other support to poor families for income- generating activities. The SFD has been set up as the core element of attempts to cushion the negative effects of the Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Policy (ERSAP) which has been implemented since the beginning of the 1990ies.

Other important policy instruments are not limited to the poor; however, they constitute important income-saving possibilities for poor families. Examples are subsidies for certain food items and basic commodities, free health care for school children, free vaccination and the Health Card for children below six years. The Shorouq program was launched to improve infrastructure and community services in poor rural areas.

22 Much has been written in recent years about extensive clientele and solidarity networks in urban low-income areas to counter the dynamics of marginalization and exclusion. See, for example, Singermann 1997 and Hoodfar 1999

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3.1.5 Government Institutions and Services The Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs (MISA) is the most important governmental institution providing services directly targeting the poor. Most prominently, the MISA is responsible for the distribution of pensions, which are disbursed through its various departments and branches on district level. It runs also a micro-credit program to help poor families establish income-generating projects.

The Productive Families Project (established in 1964) gives preference to families earning less than LE 100 per month, providing them with vocational training as well as tools, equipment and in-kind services to establish productive income-generating projects. Bank Nasser was founded in 1971 with the objective of expanding social equity among citizens and provides grants and aid to the needy. It offers also low-interest loans to individuals for economic and housing projects as well as for social obligations such as marriage, sickness or emergencies, particularly to those with limited income.

The SFD has a range of projects targeting poor communities, most prominently as part of the infrastructure and community development program. Infrastructure works have to be labor- intensive to create income in local communities. NGOs can also apply to the SFD for funds to implement projects which are targeting the poor. The Shorouq program provides resources for infrastructure projects in poor rural communities with community participation in prioritization, implementation and financing.

The Ministry of Awqaf and Al Azhar offer – regularly or on special occasions - financial and in- kind support to poor and vulnerable Muslim families, mainly widows, divorced women and families in which the main breadwinner is sick, handicapped or imprisoned.

The Young Graduates Employment Organization (YGEO) has been established as an initiative of the present governor of Cairo. It exists in the three governorates in which he has served as a governor, namely Cairo, Giza and Fayoum. The Organization offers a literacy program which includes a health awareness component and offers space and loans to young graduates to enable them to start businesses

3.1.6 Services Offered by NGOs and Private Institutions There is a wide range of mosques, churches and religious networks in Egypt that provide aid and services to the poor. Most of them follow a welfare oriented approach, mainly offering financial or in-kind resources on religious feasts and special occasions, health care for free or at reduced prices, tutoring classes for poor children etc.

NGOs offer a viariety of projects targeting the poor, including health care services, credit and saving schemes, literacy programs, support to children to prevent their dropping out of school, awareness-raising activities, life skills and other skills training as well as development programs for special target groups including small and micro enterprises, women, children, persons with special needs, children at risk etc.

The most successful programs of NGOs are those which are implemented in partnership with a professional NGO operating on governorate or national scale and active community development associations (CDAs) on the local level which play an important role to ensure efficient targeting, effectivity and sustainability.

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3.1.7 Coverage, Gaps and Capacity-building Needs Gaps in covering the needs of the poor in general and poor children in particular effectively and efficiently are particularly related to scale, lack of integrated approaches and cooperation of different actors as well as inefficient targeting and ineffective monitoring and evaluation (M+E) mechanisms. Poverty has multiple and interrelated roots, symptoms and dynamics. Programs tackling only one aspect have often rather limited effects.

(1) Scale and resources: Measures such as exceptional compensations and pensions are neither sufficient to protect the poor from crisis and destitution, nor to lift them out of poverty. Almost all pension disbursements are far below the amounts that designate the poverty line. The cash transfer programs from the Ministry of Social Affairs suffer from low total funding and low per-family transfer amounts. In 1999/2000, for example, total allocations were limited to LE 449 million representing only 0.04 percent of the 1999 GDP and average actual receipts per entitled person (calculated based on the HIECS) were LE 3.50 per poor person per month.23 Social assistance schemes cover only on in five of the eligible population at a subsistence level of an average of LE 45 per person per year for pensions and once-off payments combined.24 The majority of the poor is thus not captured at all by safety net any measures. The same applies to credit schemes and infrastructure upgrading programs. Particularly poor informal settlements in the large urban centers are still characterized by tremendous shortages in water and sanitation, schools, health and other community services.

(2) Lack of integrated multi-component programs: The multiple and interrelated problems and symptoms of poverty need comprehensive approaches which combine different interventions and link the efforts of multiple actors together within a common strategic framework. Most projects are, however, implemented in isolation and lack coordination and cooperation with other governmental and non-governmental actors. Urgently needed synergy effects are thus difficult to achieve.25

(3) Lack of community participation and sustainability: Many interventions are not rooted in local communities resulting in inefficient targeting, limited effectiveness and zero sustainability once funding is discontinued. The top-down orientation of many projects reflects the still prevailing perception of the poor as powerless and needy recipients of services which is a serious obstacle to active participation and empowerment. Donor-driven projects, in particular, tend to be governed by relatively short project-cycles which obstruct bottom-up, process-oriented approaches that are inevitable to achieve effective participation and empowerment of target groups and local communities.26

(4) Lack of technical skills: Many actors and in particular government agencies, local CDAs and traditional, welfare-oriented associations lack the necessary technical skills for effective data collection, targeting, project design, project management, M+E mechanisms and documentation. There are often no clear indicators and in-depth impact assessments to measure the effects of interventions on the socio-economic conditions of the poor. The success of micro-credit schemes, for example, is often measured in terms of re-payment rates rather than net increase in income, although there is ground for doubts as to how far the beneficiaries are actually able to realize significant additional income and not merely an increase in workload.27

23 UNECA, Poverty Reduction Strategies in Egypt, retrieved at www.uneca.org/ prsp/docs on 22/3/2004 24 Kamel Al-Sayyed, M., 2003, p.94 25 interview with E. Fawzi, March 2004,as well as Consultants own experience 26 interview with E. Fawzi, March 2004, as well as Consultants own experience 27 interview with S. Naguib, November 2000

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(5) Lack of conceptual and mobilizing skills: Another area in need of urgent capacity-building needs relates to community empowerment strategies by following bottom-up, process-oriented approaches which are more likely to mobilize and build up the capacities of the most active community members. These are often not organized in formal associations which tend to be dominated by traditional male leaders and often exclude women and youth who are usually the most enthusiastic and most open to innovation and social change. Many of them are informally organized loose networks around kindergartens and literacy classes, local service institutions, informal youth and women’s groups as well as groups of young professionals.28

Table 4: Summary Poor Children

Size Gaps + problems related (Alexandria) to data Legislation + policies Key Issues

Calculation for children 0- ƒ Poverty in Egypt ƒ No legislation or policies ƒ Poverty highly 18 years based on %ages shallow ¼ slight targeting poor children in correlated with low indicated in Egypt Human differences in definition + particular education and child Development Report 2003 methodology yield ƒ Poverty alleviation labor for Alexandria: considerably different national goal and included in ƒ Deprivation + social results latest 5-year plan exclusion ƒ 132,062 total number ƒ Serious lack of ƒ Laws concerning social ƒ High vulnerability to of poor children including research on urban poverty security + safety net include crisis 28,049 ultra-poor children provisions for cash transfers ƒ “Inheritance” of ƒ Number of poor girls: to poor families poverty 64,506 Activities of NGOs and Most important government agencies + services other actors in Alexandria Problems, gaps ƒ Wide range of NGO ƒ Lack of funds and ƒ MISA: distribution of pensions, micro-credit program activities, including health resources ƒ Prod. Families Project: training + support of care, literacy, skills training, ƒ Lack of outreach + income-generation projects awareness, micro credit, scale ƒ SfD: Infrastructure, community development + credit income-generation projects ƒ Lack of integrated schemes targeting poor areas + families ƒ Many mosques + multi-component ƒ MoAw + Al Azhar: financial and in-kind support churches offer some programs services, financial + in-kind ƒ Lack of community support to the poor participation + sustainability ƒ Lack of conceptual capacities + technical skills

3.2. Working Children

3.2.1 Definitions In general, child labor is defined as the regular participation of children under the legal age of 15 in the labor market, either to earn a living for themselves or to contribute to the household income. According to the international definition introduced by the ILO, a child is classified as a worker or economically active if the child is remunerated for the work or if the output of the work is destined for the market29.

A recent Egyptian study on child labor30 has set the number of cut off hours at 14 hours per week, i.e. a child is considered as working if it works at least 14 hours per week in the labor force and/or

28 based on results of previous studies of the author of this report 29 for the international definition of economic activity, see the International Labor Organization’s web site at http:/www.ilo.org/public/english/120stat/res/ecacopo.htm

30 Ragui Assaad et. al., 2001

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on subsistence production and/or on domestic tasks. Definitions of what constitutes work vary considerably. They fall under three main categories:

(1) market work is the narrowest classification. It restricts the definition of work to market work only, subsistence work is not included (2) exclusive work is the standard international definition of economic activity It includes market work, i.e. work undertaken for the purpose of market exchange, as well as subsistence work in the primary sectors, most notably agriculture and animal husbandry.31 (3) inclusive work is the widest classification. It includes also domestic chores performed by women and female children at home (cooking, errands, house cleaning, collecting water, laundry, and child care)

The use of different definitions don’t have a significant effect on boys because work of boys usually means market work, but it makes a big difference for girls since only a minority of working females are involved in market work with many girls performing domestic tasks on a large scale32. The traditional definition of market work seems to be arbitrary when unpaid work in a family enterprise and preparing food in a market stall are considered work, whereas similar activities done for purposes of household consumption are not. These distinctions may result in biases when trying to understand the phenomena of child labor and schooling.

3.2.2 Nature and Scope of Child Labor Numbers on working children differ according to different definitions and methodologies used. A survey conducted by the Population Council33 in 1997 found that around one third of all children in Egypt are involved in economic activities. The two most recent studies on child labor come to similar conclusions concerning nature of child labor, but use different definitions (see above). One study has been carried out for the ILO and is based on the 1999/2000 Household Income, Expenditure and Consumption Survey (HIECS) which covers 47,949 families including 511,418 children aged 6-14 years34. It defines labor largely according to the definition of exclusive work. The analysis of the above mentioned study of Ragui Assaad et al. is based on the Egyptian Labor Market Survey (ELMS) of 1998 which covers 5,000 representative Egyptian families on a national scale. It defines labor as inclusive work and consequently arrives at higher figures of child labor incidence, particularly concerning females. The most recent yet unpublished survey has been carried out by CAPMAS on behalf of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM). The study arrives at considerably higher figures than the previously mentioned studies.35

According to the ILO study 0.05% of all boys and 0.03% of all girls aged 6-14 years in metropolitan areas are studying and working at the same time whereas 3% of boys and 0.5% of girls are employed without being in school, 13% of boys and 14% of girls are neither student nor

31 According to the ILO, subsistence workers are those “who hold a ’self-employment’ job and in this capacity produce goods or services which are predominantly consumed by their own household and constitute an important basis for its livelihood” 32 The study of Assaad et al. found that for boys, the rate of participation increases slightly from 4.68% to 4.81% when moving from the market to the exclusive definition. For girls it jumps from 1.7% to 8.2% to 42.8% when moving from market to exclusive to inclusive definitions 33 Tawila et. al, study for the Population Council, 1999. The survey was carried out in 1997 and covered a sample of 9,128 adolescents all over Egypt 34 El Seyed, M.K (ed.), 2003 35 Since the study is not published yet, it was not possible to obtain figures in writing nor any breakdown or information about the definition of child labor or the survey methodology

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working. Only 10% of working children were found to be younger than 10 years. The study of Assaad et. al. reports a decline in market and subsistence labor activities for children between 6 and 14 years from 18.5% to 7.1% in the decade between 1988 and 1998 with school enrolment jumping from 81% to 89% during the same period. This means that still approximately 1.4 million children below age 14 (11%) did not attend school in 1998 and approximately 863,000 children (7.1%) regularly engaged in labor force activities, while 2.2 million girls (34.6 %) were heavily involved in household chores and child care. The study found also that more than one third of working boys (36%) are simultaneously enrolled in school. Most girls, however, who are involved in either market or subsistence work are out of school whereas domestic work appears to be more compatible with schooling.36

All studies highlight the strong relation between poverty and child labor. Poor parents can often not afford the cost of education and need the income of children as a supplement to the household income. The study of Assaad et al. found that nearly 80% of working children belong to families within the lowest quintile of income and wealth.37 The need for money is usually the most prominent reason for a child to start working, followed by family reasons and failure in school. The ILO study found that the average yearly income earned by child workers amounts to LE 902 with average wages of boys being more than double as high as those of girls with gender differences in metropolitan areas being even higher. The income of working children was found to represent on average 19.4% of the total household income (boys in urban areas 26.3% and girls ca. 5%). Since most working girls are involved in subsistence work and domestic chores, the function of their contribution to the household budget is often expenditure saving rather than income earning.

There seem to be considerable gender differences regarding determinants of work and schooling. The probability of working was found to increase with age for both boys and girls, according to the ILO study from 4.3% at age six to 41.1% at age 11 and 78.4% at age 14 for boys and from 0.3% to 4.4% and 19.1% for girls. Schooling and work of both sexes but even more significantly for girls show high correlations with low education and older age of the father. Low income of the father has also a significant negative impact on child labor and schooling but girls' education and work are more income elastic than those of boys. Particularly children of fathers who depend on irregular wage work in the private sector are at risk of dropping out of school and working instead. Work in family enterprises, on the other hand, is frequently combined with schooling and does not often lead to school drop-out.

The majority of boys and girls is working in agriculture followed by market work in workshops and factories, mobile work (excluding street vendors) and work in shops. Most boys work in SMEs with less than five workers whereas half of the girls work in enterprises with ten and more employees. Those who don’t work in agriculture are concentrated in relatively few industries. Most girls work in food preparation, the textile and garment industries, retail trade and miscellaneous personal services. Boys have more options and are frequently found in the same industries as girls except textiles, in addition to furniture, wood and manufacturing trades, construction and repair industries. Boys are more likely to acquire some level of skills at work, usually through apprenticeship but almost half of boys’ market work is only temporary, seasonal or casual. Almost half of both boys and girls engaged in market work are unpaid family workers. If subsistence work is included, the percentage of girls jumps to almost 70%. Few child wage

36 The study found also that according to both market and exclusive definitions of work, about 12% of girls were neither in school nor working. When using the inclusive definition of work, however, this proportion fell to 3.5%, relatively close to that of boys 37 The percentage of families below the poverty line would probably be significantly higher if the income of working children was excluded from household incomes

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workers are employed by members of their own household but many of them work for relatives, neighbors and friends of the family or employers from the same village or town.38

3.2.3 Problems and Issues (1) The vicious circle of child labor, poverty and low education: As already mentioned above, most studies on child labor in Egypt prove that the phenomenon is rooted in poverty. It causes children to drop out of school and even if staying in school child labor reduces performance in school.39 Low levels of school performance in turn tend to perpetuate poverty. Thus, a vicious circle is created which is aggravated by growing youth unemployment. Poverty studies point to constant changes in urban labor markets during recent years. Whereas illiteracy was always highly correlated with poverty, employment chances of those who dropped out after primary school were often better than those of technical secondary school graduates, at least in urban areas since urban labor markets provided numerous low-skill jobs. These low-skill jobs, however, have been increasingly less in demand in recent years, thus aggravating the negative effects of early school drop-out.40

(2) Extremely stressful working conditions: Many children work for long working hours with insufficient rest periods and inappropriate nutrition. Nearly half of the child workers covered by the survey of the Population Council were found working seven or more hours per day with one quarter working for more than nine hours and two fifth working for seven days a week. The study of Ragui Assaad found the average number of working hours for both boys and girls engaged in market work ranging between 44.2 and 52.8 hours per week. Shouting, beating and humiliations are common and result in low self-esteem and a wide range of stress symptoms such as psychological disorders and aggressiveness.

(3) Industrial safety and health: Around one third of working children are estimated to be exposed at various degrees to serious hazards such as fire, extreme heat or the use of sharp tools. Many have to deal with toxic substances, dangerous machines or work in places with insufficient industrial safety and health provisions. Accidents causing cuts and bruises, intoxication and other health hazards are common and first aid often not available within easy reach. Most children working under hazardous and stressful working conditions suffer from serious and permanent damages to their physical and emotional well-being and development. NGOs point to the spread of certain diseases as well as to increased rates of drug consumption and delinquency among working children.41

3.2.4 Legislation and Policies Egypt has ratified all important international conventions dealing directly or indirectly with child labor, namely the Convention for the Rights of the Child, the Agreement No. 138/1978 which stipulates the minimum working age at 15 years and the Agreement No. 182/1999 dealing with the worst forms of child labor, i.e. slavery, prostitution, drug trafficking, health hazardous and

38 The only long-term survey in Egypt known to the author highlights the fact that it is a common coping strategy for small and micro enterprises in the informal sector in times of market lulls to substitute male workers with cheaper female ones, paid labor with unpaid family labor and adult labor with child labor. The study found that the share of paid or unpaid child laborers in the six areas in Cairo covered by the study increased from 15 to 23% during the period of structural adjustment policy. See Meyer, G., 2000 39 The study of Assaad et. al. has found a much more direct and detrimental effect on girls’ schooling whereas school performance is more negatively affected in the case of boys. Other studies pointed to the fact that in urban areas school drop-out rates of girls are decreasing while those of boys are on the rise. See for example Population Council 1999, op cit.

40 see for example Nassar, H., 1999 41 Assaad et. al., 2001 and El Ehwany 2001

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unethical jobs. During the past decade which was declared the Decade for the Protection and Welfare of the Egyptian Child, Egypt has passed a Child Law and formulated a national strategy on child labor. However, national policies on education, health and small-scale enterprises do not address child labor at all.

The Child Law No. 12/1996 contains two articles, No. 64 and No. 68, which deal directly with the protection of working children: The law prohibits employment of children under age 15 and vocational training, which is often a hidden form of child labor, under age 12. Seasonal jobs that do not harm children’s health or impact their schooling may be allowed only with a decree by the governor and approval of the Minister of Education. The law does not allow more than six working hours per day and imposes on employers of children under 16 to issue name tags with photos indicating the place of work. The name tags have to be certified and stamped by the labor office. The executive regulations prescribe the type of work permitted for children, rest periods, occupational safety precautions, milk provision, ventilation, weights allowed to be carried by a child and the role of the labor office in monitoring. The Unified Labor Law which has been passed in 2003 is largely in accordance with the Child Law.

In February 2000, the President declared a second Decade for the Child, signifying that “henceforward childhood issues should occupy their proper place in the very center of all governmental future plans and prospects”. The social objectives of the declaration highlight that “the main thrust of attention should be directed to the protection of children who pass through difficult circumstances, especially drop outs, working and street children…”42. The NCCM has elaborated the National Strategy to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor which is expected to be officially endorsed by the First Lady integrated ex post into the National Five Year Plan of 2002-2007. The strategy is intended to combat hazardous child labor, protect working children and prevent new children to joint the labor market through the elimination of root causes. I calls for the cooperation of a wide range of ministries, NGOs and other actors to combine efforts at policy and service delivery levels as well as in the media and the public sphere in general.

3.2.5 Responsible Government Agencies and Services The Ministry of Manpower and Migration (MoMM) has a subsidiary division for child labor which was established in November 2001. The core activities of the division are related to a project which has already started in 1994 and was originally funded by the ILO, the Project for Institutional and Policy Development to Combat Child Labor. It is part of the ILO funded International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor. The project’s main objectives are to raise awareness on child labor issues, to implement the National Strategy and to enhance the capacities of the 2080 labor inspectors to protect child workers by enabling them to act as negotiators and advisers rather than merely as fine and penalty inflictors. Due to lack of funding, the division could not be transformed into a full-fledged general department and consists only of seven employees including the manager. In 2001, new Child Labor Welfare Units were established in all 26 governorates with the tasks of (1) implementing the directorate’s child protection policies, (2) undertaking inspections on establishments employing children, (3) investigating complaints and imposing penalties, (4) organizing awareness and media campaigns and (5) undertaking research and building a database on child labor.

The MISA operates or supervises vocational training centers for school drop-outs which are run by NGOs. The centers are destined to offer an alternative for child labor by providing training to children between 12 and 17 years in around 20 different vocations such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, painting etc. Trainees graduate after two years as semi-skilled workers. In 2002,

42 The Cabinet, NCCM, Declaration for the Second Decade for the Protection and Welfare of the Egyptian Child (2000- 2010), 15 February, 2000

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there were 70 centers in 25 governorates with 469 trainers and 5000 trainees. In the same year, health insurance for school children was extended to children registered in these centers. In 1997, the MISA was entrusted to administer the Program for the Welfare and Development of the Working Child. The program is implemented through the General Department of Family and Childhood and offers recreational, health and social care to working children between six and 14 years in Child Welfare Centers. No such center exists in Alexandria.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MoALR) runs a project to protect working children in 11 governorates. It organizes awareness campaigns among farmers, distributes nutritious meals to school children in primary schools in cooperation with the Ministry of Education (MoE), provides health care services to both children and mothers, offers literacy classes, libraries and training for children and mothers to increase their income through enhanced skills related to agriculture. The MoE tries to offer alternatives to child labor. It provides educational opportunities with flexible study periods for those who missed schooling through Community Schools and the One-Class Schools. Recently, the MoE has established drop-out centers in 4 of the 6 districts in Alexandria with the objectives to prevent drop-outs through early intervention, awareness-raising and support to the children and their families. The Ministry of Health (MoH) does not have a special department concerned with child labor but addresses the issue through its General Department for Occupational Health. The MoH is supposed to collect data and undertake in-depth surveys on working children, including medical checks, and to give advice to children and their mothers. It issues also the Medical Commuter Cards (MCC) for working children who are school drop-outs and therefore not covered by the School Medical Insurance Program. Currently, the MCC are issued in 17 governorates, excluding Alexandria, and entitle to free medical treatment at local health units and free medication. The Ministry of Youth (MoY) has established 10 Pioneers Clubs seven of which, including one in Alexandria seven of which are located within workers clubs in youth centers and the other three are located in NGOs.

The NCCM started to demonstrate increased interest in the problem of child labor when Mrs. Mubarak formed a task force to study the phenomenon and recommend policies. Together with CAPMAS, the NCCM undertook a comprehensive study with a sample of 20,000 households all over Egypt the results of which will be published soon. The NCCM is also directly involved in the implementation of three pilot projects to combat child labor with the objective to test and demonstrate models for other interested actors. It follows a gradual strategy concentrating on the protection of working children and the elimination of the worst forms of child labor in the short and medium term as well as the enrolment of all children in primary education and the improvement of family incomes to prevent school drop-outs.

A high-level Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee was established in 2001 to coordinate the efforts of all these ministries related to child labor. It is headed by the MoMM and includes also the NCCM, CAPMAS, the General Federation of Trade Unions in Egypt (GFTUE), the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) and NGOs working in the area. The committee has the tasks to strengthen coordination and cooperation, undertake research, follow-up on and evaluate existing programs and develop policy recommendations

3.2.6 NGO Responses to Child Labor The phenomenon of child labor was first brought to the spot light in 1986 when the National Center for Social and Criminological Studies (NCSCS) organized the first seminar on the subject together with UNICEF. NGOs have started with interventions to combat child labor in the 1990ies. NGO activities have since expanded gradually and follow a wide range of approaches, mainly (1) the provision of direct services to working children such as the organization of recreational activities, day trips and the provision of hot meals but also health care and various forms of social and psychological support (2) protective interventions such as attempts to combat hazardous

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labor, increase industrial safety and health at the work place, limit working hours and abolish maltreatment of working children, (3) remedial education such as literacy classes, vocational and life skills training, (4) incentives to keep children in school, (5) loans, training and marketing services for the families of working children to increase income and prevent further school drop- outs, (6) funds and training for local community associations, (7) research on certain aspects of child labor and (8) awareness-raising, publication of child right violations and advocacy.

Most NGOs attribute child labor mainly to poverty and the unequal distribution of income and wealth. They emphasize that holistic approaches are needed to fight the phenomenon. The majority of the NGOs implement time-limited intervention programs in specific geographic areas which are funded to a large extent by international donors in addition to some funds of the GoE and private donations. Most NGOs have achieved a limited extent of cooperation with governmental actors and have repeatedly pointed out that without a strong role of governmental agencies in providing education, health care and transfer payments to the poor as well as by enforcing the protective measures stipulated in the law, no real progress can be achieved.

3.2.7 Other Actors The FEI, an organization of public and private sector employers, is concerned with child labor because of the possible impact of the GATT agreement and WTO debates regarding restrictions on exports from developing countries relying on child labor.43 Together with the GFTUE, the FEI has established so-called solidarity centers in three governorates that promote self-help initiatives to monitor child labor, provide services to working children and offer micro credit to their families.

The ILO and UNICEF have both implemented projects to combat child labor. Apart from direct interventions, the ILO tries to strengthen national capacities to address problems related to child labor. UNICEF focuses on keeping children in school as an alternative to child labor. It supports community and one-classroom schools as well as NGOs that provide micro credit on condition that the beneficiary families leave their children in school. In Alexandria, UNICEF cooperates with three NGOs, the district of Alexandria West to address child labor and school drop-out. Each NGO is in charge of one of three main components: micro credit to mothers of working children if they keep other children in school, recreational activities and The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will soon launch a large project called Development and Protection of Child Labor which aims at improving the health and safety of children working in SMEs and providing them with education. The project will be implemented in cooperation with NCCM and three local NGOs.

3.2.8 Problems, Gaps and Capacity-building Needs Despite the numerous actions which have been taken during the past ten years, many policies and interventions are only to a limited extent effective. Problems can be summarized as follows:

(1) Lack of information: Child labor is often hidden and there is a tremendous lack of valid data and information at the local level. No data at all is available on female children working as domestic servants, although it is assumed that the phenomenon is wide-spread and domestic

43 Ahram Weekly Online reported, for example, that in 2000 a textiles shipment worth 13 Mio. US$ could only leave the customs after it was proved after two weeks that no child labor was used in the production process. See www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2000/503/ec3.htm

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servants particularly vulnerable to exploitation as well as physical and sexual abuse. Available data is usually not readily shared with other concerned actors.44

(2) Lack of sufficient funding and resources: There are considerable shortages in funding for law enforcement, vocational training, welfare centers for working children, schools in poor urban areas,45 comprehensive health care and unemployment insurance. Lack of funding obstructs also the involvement of NGOs on a wider scale and over longer periods. So far, only a fraction of working children is captured by existing programs and services. Working children are not covered by medical insurance unless they are still in school. Low salaries of labor inspectors and lack of attractive incentives are one on the reported reasons for the prevalence of bribes to avoid fines for violations of the law. Inspections are often mere formalities and labor inspectors find it difficult to fulfill their other tasks as advisors to both employers and working children.46

(3) Ineffective program and project design: Educational, health and other services targeting working children are often too far from children’s places of work so that they are either not aware of their existence or not able to access them. Other services such as the vocational training centers (VCT) of the MISA are largely unattractive because they provide considerably less marketable skills than local workshops in addition to the fact that other than trainees, apprentices get low but real salaries. Remedial education is marginal and does not provide functional and non-functional skills which increase the trainees’ chances to find employment after graduation.47 Many other projects, including those of NGOs, are ill designed and suffer from sustainability. They often consist of one-shot events which do not tackle the root of the problem and do not build up any momentum. Credit or tools and machines for income-generating projects are frequently provided without appropriate training and marketing support. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are often ineffective or results are not sufficiently taken into consideration to improve performance and effectiveness.48

(4) Lack of implementation skills and commitment: The multi-dimensional nature of child labor calls for coordinated interventions on several levels to achieve synergy effects and higher level development objectives. This needs profound conceptual skills and flexible approaches in implementation, i.e. profound project management, negotiation and problem-solving skills which are often not available. Employees are often frustrated because of the lack success and many are convinced that child labor is impossible to abolish in view of rampant poverty which is unlikely to diminish in the near future and that working children are better off than street children or juvenile delinquents.49

(5) Lack of community participation and cooperation: The involvement of communities and local service institutions is crucial to increase awareness, mobilize local resources and overcome resistance and skepticism of families and employers of working children. So far, there are only limited attempts to mobilize local communities and also working children themselves to stand up for better working and living conditions, an approach which has proven to be very effective in

44 interviews with E. Fawzi, March 2004, and A. Taha, April 2004 45 An in-depth study in the squatter settlement of Manshiet Nasser/Cairo with roughly 420,000 inhabitants, for example, found that student places in the area are available for only 38% of children at primary school age and 33% at preparatory school age. See Guide Plan Manshiet Nasser, June 2001, section 11.4 46 interviews with E. Fawzi, March 2004, and A. Taha, April 2004 47 interview with S. Tobah, October 2002, and own experience 48 interview with S. Naguib, November 2000, and own experience 49 statement confirmed by employees in labor offices of various districts

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some other developing countries like for instance India. In case of interventions in the same area which could complement each other, competition is often prevailing over cooperation both among governmental and non-governmental actors.50

Table 5: Summary Working Children

Size Gaps + problems related Size (national) (Alexandria) to data Legislation + policies

ƒ ILO study: 4.87% of Calculation based on ƒ Different definitions of ƒ Ratification of all boys, 1.42% of girls (6-14 %ages indicated for child labor + different relevant international years) national level: methodologies used for conventions related to ƒ Study Assaad et. al.: data collection and child labor ƒ Based on %ages of 7.1% (6-14 years) analysis ƒ Child law No. 12/1996 ILO study: ca. 8,600 boys ¼ difficult to compare data deals directly with ƒ Population Council: + ca. 2,400 girls (10-14 protection of working 1/3 of all children (10-14 years) years) involved in children ƒ Based on %ages of economic activities ƒ National Strategy to study Assaad et.al.: ca. Eliminate the Worst Forms 25,000 (10-14 years) Variations due to different of Child Labor (not yet definitions and ƒ Based on %ages of officially endorsed) methodology Population Council (10-14 years): ca. 114,000 Most important Activities of NGOs and Key Issues government agencies + other actors in Problems, gaps services Alexandria ƒ MoMM: division for ƒ Vicious circle of child child labor + child welfare ƒ El Hurriya ƒ Lack of information in labor, poverty and low units + labor inspectors Association: public and concrete areas education ƒ MISA: vocational legal awareness ƒ Lack of funding + ƒ Extremely stressful training centers for school campaigns resources working conditions drop-outs + Program for ƒ Sidi Gaber ƒ Ineffective program + ƒ Industrial safety and the Welfare & Development Association: micro credit, project design health of the Working Child (not skills training, awareness, ƒ Lack of in Alexandria) literacy to families of implementation skills and ƒ MoE: drop-out centers working children commitment (pilot project in Alex) ƒ Gama’iya al-kashafa ƒ Lack of community ƒ MoH: Medical al-bahariya: recreational + participation + cooperation Commuter Cards for cultural activities working children (not in ƒ Al-mar’a al-mo’ila Alex) Association: micro-credit ƒ MoY: Pioneer Clubs for mothers of working for working children in children youth centers (one in Alex) ƒ NCCM: task force, study (not published yet), pilot projects (not in Alex)

3.3 Street Children

3.3.1 Definitions Definitions used by different actors in Egypt can be roughly divided into two main trends, one applied by the Social Defense Department of the MISA, various legislators and government executive bodies, the other widely adopted by NGOs, researchers and the media. However, no common understanding exists among the latter to determine who is to be included into the group of street children.

50 interview with E. Fazwi, March 2003, as well as own experience

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By referring to street children as “children exposed to delinquency”, the Child Law (law 12/1996) still follows the long prevailing legal definition of street children as actual or potential delinquents which is based on the perception that street children represent a potential threat to security and public moral. The National NCCM deviates from this definition and uses the term homeless child instead of street child, defined as “child whose family and the community were unable to meet its basic needs due to social and economic problems which push the child into the street. The child seeks to survive on its own and is lacking any kind of care and protection. The child is exposed to danger and abuse and is deprived of its basic rights.”

Definitions of NGOs, researchers and the media usually include the following criteria to define street children: male or female children below age 18 (the legal definition of childhood in Egypt) who spend all or most of their time on the street, try to survive by doing marginal jobs, have no or minimal contact with their families, lack supervision, protection and guidance and are thus vulnerable to a wide range of health and psychological hazards, physical and sexual abuse and exploitation.

3.3.2 Size and Profile There are no official statistics and no other valid and reliable data on the number of street children in Egypt. Some attempts have been made to estimate the magnitude and prevalence of the phenomenon. However, estimates differ considerably due to differences in definitions and difficulties to conduct surveys in view of the high mobility of street children. Figures vary between 93,00051 and 2 Million52.

The numbers of street children in drop-in and transit shelter centers set up by NGOs as well as official statistics of arrests of children suggest that the phenomenon is growing. A rapid situation assessment which was conducted in 2001 for UNICEF and other organizations53, quotes an unpublished report of the MISA which indicates a total of 17,228 children who were arrested on the ground of “exposure to delinquency” during the period of 1995 through 1999. According to a situational analysis conducted in 2004 for the Arab Council for Childhood and Development (ACCD), the number of children arrested with the same charge amounted to 10,958 in 2001 alone, out of a total of 42,505 arrested children.54

The main reasons given for the growing numbers of street children are related to the increase of poverty and social disintegration, manifesting itself in family break-ups, child neglect and domestic violence. The above-mentioned study for UNICEF and others reports the reasons for becoming involved in street life as indicated by street children themselves: family poverty (98%), abusive home or work environment (82%), family neglect (62%), peer pressure (36%) and sensation seeking (16%). Poverty and violence play thus a prominent role in driving children into the streets.

Both boys and girls are found among street children, although the number of boys seems to be considerably higher. If figures on prostitution among those charged with delinquency are taken as a proxy indicator for female street children (according to NGOs, mainly but not only female street children are involved in prostitution), their share could be estimated between 5 and 10% The age of street children varies between 6 and 18 years. Exceptionally children as young as 2 or 3 years

51 Sedik, A., Cairo 1995. Estimates are based on the records of El-Amal Village in Cairo 52 The General Egyptian Association for Child Protection (NGO). Unpublished Report, 1999 53 UNICEF et al., June 2001 54 Arab Council for Childhood and Development, 2004

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are found living in the streets, usually together with older siblings or as children of parents who are themselves living in the streets. According to the above mentioned studies as well as records of NGOs working with street children, the average age of street children is 13 years with roughly one quarter being less than 12 years old.55

Street children prefer to live in areas where they feel secure, relatively protected from violence and with the possibility of earning a living and having some fun. In Alexandria, street children are concentrated in the following areas: El Gumruk, around Masr and Sidi Gaber train stations, tram stations, markets, the Qabbari district, Ezbet El Mattar, Manshiet El Nozha, El Mahmoudiya canal, public gardens and squatter areas. According to the records of CARITAS, one of the most active NGOs working in Alexandria with street children, 80% of street children come from governorates other than Alexandria, around 50% from Greater Cairo. Many children are moving constantly between cities in order to take advantage of differences in practices of certain government institutions in dealing with street children.

3.3.3 Problems and Issues Related to Street Children Problems faced by street children have been described in many studies and reports of NGOs working with street children. The issues which have to be addressed to alleviate and eventually solve these problems can be summarized as follows:

(1) Exploitation, violence, and abuse: Violence and maltreatment are mentioned by most street children as a constant feature of their everyday life. It is executed by the police, other law enforcement bodies, employees in social and reformatory institutions, shop keepers and ordinary citizens but also by peers or older street children and adult delinquents who are in contact with street children. The latter often exploit children by offering protection or participation in petty crimes in exchange for payment or sexual favors. Female street children are often pushed to become involved in prostitution. Violence includes heavy beating but also cuts and bruises so that many street children carry knives or razor blades to defend themselves. Both the Egyptian Center for the Right of the Child and Human Rights Watch report on rampant and systematic violence executed against children by law enforcement agencies, including severe physical and sexual abuse starting from their arrest all the way through to reformatories and detention centers.56

(2) Lack of legal protection and social exclusion: Since the law does not clearly distinguish between street children and delinquents, street children live in constant fear of being arrested and sent to reformatory institutions or back to a family environment which they have just tried to escape from. Although the law prescribes that children are separated from adult delinquents, they are frequently arrested together with adult detainees in view of the lack of separate facilities. Many reports of NGOs point to the fact that the current instruments of law enforcement tend to increase the risk that street children eventually become criminals or at least less likely to be re- integrated into mainstream society. Street children are predominantly perceived as immoral, delinquents or even potential criminals. Their general appearance and behavior tend to offend most citizens and local communities often try to push them out of their area. Other children are usually prohibited to mix with street children and the latter are usually not admitted to youth clubs, cultural centers or other venues offering activities to children. They are thus completely deprived of participating in social and community life. Since it is very hard for street children to obtain legal documents such as birth certificates and identity cards, they are also not able to access government services like school education, vocational training or medical care.

55 UNICEF et. al., June 2001 56 see Center for the Rights of Egyptian Children, The Situation of Juvenile Delinquents in Egypt, 2003 and Human Rights Watch, February 2003

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(3) Health problems, including drug abuse and psychological disorders: Health records of street children at different NGOs reveal the most frequent health problems of street children: skin diseases (scabies and tinea), anemia, intestinal parasitic infections, skin abscesses and septic wounds, tonsillitis, otitis media and hair lice. Children included in the survey conducted for UNICEF and others complained about additional health problems such as frequent fever, abdominal and renal colics, blood in the urine, diarrhea, dental problems, respiratory problems and skeletal injuries. Many of these problems are due to eating exposed and dirty food, lack of personal hygiene, maltreatment and drug abuse.57 Most studies point to the fact that the majority of street children are smoking and consume illicit drugs, mainly glue, solvents, bango and tablets. Most of them suffer from psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, phobias and anti- social personality disorders which are associated with problems of street life.

(4) Education, vocational training and skills development: Low educational levels and vocational skills as well as an almost complete lack of vision for the future seriously obstruct the personal development of street children and their chance to escape a permanent life in the streets. According to the study conducted for UNICEF and others, 30% of the surveyed street children have never been to school and 70% dropped out at primary level. The marginal jobs performed by street children such as selling trivial merchandise, cleaning cars or carrying bags for shoppers do not offer opportunities to learn marketable skills. Street children tend also to spend their money immediately for fear of being robbed. Saving money and planning for any kind of major investments is thus close to impossible.

3.3.4 Legislation and Policies Legislation and policies relating to street children still perceive them predominantly as threats to the social order and potential law offenders. Consequently, laws and regulations include mainly legal sanctions and punitive measures which are enforced through the court system. Preventive and rehabilitative interventions remain marginal. The most important law, the Child Law (law 12/1996), labels street children as “liable to delinquency” and authorizes judicial authorities to order rehabilitative measures or custody.58 Street children are liable to arrest when caught performing certain types of activities, e.g. begging, selling trivial items, collecting cigarette ends or other items from waste, having connection with prostitution, gambling, drugs or other suspects of delinquency, having no means to live and no trusted guardian, having no permanent place to sleep but also escaping regularly from educational and vocational training institutions. Thus, the legal definition subjects street children to arrest not for criminal acts they have committed but for other’s failure to provide them with care and protection. Although the law is meant to protect children before they become criminals, they are in fact treated as criminal suspects and often detained in police lock-ups. According to Article 94 of the Child Law, criminal liability can be claimed as early as age seven. However, the law stipulates, too, that parents can be held criminally accountable for their failure to ensure that the child behaves properly.

A number of social policies apply to a wider range of vulnerable children, including children exposed to delinquency and juvenile delinquents, together with foundlings, homeless, destitute and lost children. They address poverty-related issues in a more general sense and are thus indirectly trying to reduce family break-ups and other social problems which have been identified

57 ACCD, 2004 58 The study conducted for UNICEF and others reports the sentences by the Cairo Juvenile Court for misdemeanor offences committed by juveniles as follows: warning to parent (50%), imprisonment (17%), probation (13%), confinement to institution (11%), fine (5%) and delivery to parent/guardian (4%). Source: Abdel-Naby et. Al., 1996 Motives for sentencing street children to social institutions for juveniles are reported as follows: no legal guardian (30%), begging (29%), vagrancy (20%), no stable address (9%), prostitution (7%) and running away from family (5%). Source: Adel Azer, Protecting Vulnerable Children: Juvenile Delinquents in Egypt, Cairo 1999, reference year: 1992

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as major causes of the increasing number of children involved in street life. In recent years, a number of conferences has been organized by national and regional institutions such as the NCCM and the ACCD as well as NGOs to draw attention to the increasing phenomenon of street children and to come up with recommendations. The NCCM has elaborated a “National Strategy to Protect, Integrate and Rehabilitate Street Children” which has been officially endorsed by the First Lady in March 2003 but is not implemented yet.59 The strategy aims at eliminating the phenomenon by protecting, rehabilitating and empowering street children through a range of social, economic, media and advocacy interventions.

3.3.5 Responsible Government Agencies and Services The main law enforcement bodies related to street children are the juvenile delinquency police squad (JDP) and the department of juvenile delinquency under the Ministry of Interior (MoI), the courts under the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the social defense department (SDD) under the MISA. Arrests are carried out by the police. Children who have been arrested are then referred to a court that can issue a variety of dispositions such as reprimand, delivering the child to the legal guardian, joining vocational training, obligation with certain duties (community service), judicial probation, placement in a special hospital or placement in a reformatory or social care institution.

The SDD of the MISA deals with several segments of the society, among them juvenile delinquents and children exposed to delinquency. If a court considers the institutionalization of arrested street children, the social surveillance and follow-up bureau of the SDD is asked to write a report on the situation of the child and its family, including the reasons of exposure to delinquency. In case the court sends the child back to its family, the bureau is responsible to follow the case up and write periodic reports to the court. Before the court issues a final decision, children are hosted in so-called houses of observation. The social surveillance and follow-up bureau is also supposed to follow up on cases of children who are released from reformatories or social care institutions to make sure that they are able to lead a normal life.

The SDD maintains or supervises a range of hostels, reformatories and social care institutions that host street children who have been placed by a court order. Most of these institutions are managed by NGOs. Usually, they offer accommodation, basic health care, literacy classes, vocational training and some recreational activities. In Alexandria, the two main institutions hosting street children are the Alexandria Association for Child Care (boys and girls) and the Social Defense Association (not to be confused with the department under the MISA).

3.3.6 NGO Responses to Street Children The number of NGOs working with street children has been increasing during the past decade. Services offered by these NGOs include family re-union, health care, nutrition, literacy classes and vocational training, recreational activities, awareness and counseling. Services are provided through drop-in centers, transit shelters and permanent shelter centers as well as different outreach schemes. Initially, approaches have focused on “rescuing” children from street life through re-integration into their families or institutionalization. This goal is still perceived as the best solution, however, often difficult to achieve since in many cases either the children or the family refuse re-union. Respective programs are also costly since they involve interventions to change the circumstances which led to the children’s break-up with the family as well as intensive follow-up measures to ensure the children’s well-being after re-union.

59 The Cabinet, the NCCM, National Strategy for: “Protection and Rehabilitation of Street Children in Egypt”, 2003

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In recent years, attempts have been introduced to accompany and support children in their street existence and to offer bridges between street life and mainstream society. Some NGOs started to involve street children themselves as peer educators. Increasingly, networks are being formed among NGOs who cooperate within larger programs which are often funded by international donors. Links exist to government agencies and cooperation is being established to facilitate access of street children to public services as well as to train government officials in dealing with street children and juvenile delinquents. NGOs are also increasingly aware of the importance to involve local communities to increase acceptance and support and to provide services to families at risk of producing street children.

Three NGOs are working with street children in Alexandria:

(1) CARITAS

CARITAS Alexandria runs a drop-in center and a transit shelter center for street children (until now only for boys). In addition, the association has established mobile units of street educators who work with street children as well as with local communities. The street educators have received ID cards by the directorate of social affairs to protect them from any legal incrimination when found in the company of street children in case of police round-ups. Through the centers and the NGO’s mobile units, children are offered food, health care and hygiene, literacy, vocational training, counseling, group therapy, recreational activities, referral and family reconciliation. In Cairo, CARITAS is closely cooperating with the social defense department of the MISA to develop juvenile institutions, mainly by training the staff working with children. Similar activities are planned to be extended to Alexandria.

CARITAS participates in a joint project, “Protecting Buds”, together with the General Egyptian Association for Child Protection and the Higher Institute of Social Work (HISW) in Alexandria which is funded by the Social Fund for Development (SFD). The project includes awareness- raising activities and preventive interventions targeting families at risk as well as local communities. Trying to address problems related to the high mobility of street children, the NGO has also taken the lead to establish a cross-governorate network together with SDDs and other NGOs in order to be able to follow up on individual cases across governorates.

(2) The General Egyptian Association for Child Protection (GEACP)

The association started to work with street children in 1998 through the above mentioned joint project with CARITAS and the HISW. It runs the El Mattar reception center for boys with an average of 30 children per day and the Smoha residential center for girls (14 permanent residents). The GEACP offers largely the same services and activities as CARITAS, in addition to a job placement service, research and public awareness-raising through media campaigns.

(3) El Hurriya Association for the Development of the Community and the Environment (HADCE)

Founded in 1919, HADCE is the oldest NGO in Alexandria. Activities targeting street children have been established in 1997. The association runs the Kom El Dikka drop-in and residential shelter center for boys with a capacity of 50 children, a residential reception center hosting juvenile children until they are referred to court with a capacity of 100 children and an emergency center which provides services to all children at risk. HADCE offers largely the same services as the other two associations.

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3.3.7 Coverage, Problems and Capacity-building Needs (1) Legal and institutional gaps: The law does not distinguish between delinquents and street children and does not include any provisions of protection and care. Consequently, there are no institutional mechanisms charged with providing care and services to street children, apart from forced institutionalization in certain cases. The fact that the law labels children as potential delinquents is reflected in the fact that law enforcement agencies show a tremendous lack of understanding of the problems of street children and their urgent need for protection and care. There are no effective mechanisms of supervision and complaint to protect children from maltreatment and abuse in police custody, reformatory institutions and detention centers. The family counseling offices of the MISA are not trained and capable to identify families at risk to produce street children and to take preventive intervention.60

(2) Service gaps: At present, governmental institutions are only marginally able to address the problems and issues related to street children identified above. Although NGOs have started to address the needs of street children, they are not able to cater to all their needs. Service gaps can be particularly identified regarding protection from violence and abuse, health care including prevention and treatment of drug addiction, psychological treatment, social rehabilitation and inclusion, education, vocational training and job placement as well as development of life skills and visions for the future.

Table 6: Summary Street Children

Size Gaps + problems related Size (national) (Alexandria) to data Legislation + policies ƒ No comprehensive ƒ Main legal instrument: No accurate data available. No data and no estimates surveys, only very small Child Law No. 12/1996 available for Alexandria sample surveys or NGO ƒ National Strategy to Estimates vary between records that don’t allow for Protect, Integrate and 93,000 and 2 Million reliable general estimates Rehabilitate Street street children according to ƒ Different definitions of Children (not yet definition. street children ¼ difficult implemented) to compare estimates Most important Activities of NGOs and Key Issues government agencies + other actors in Problems, gaps services Alexandria ƒ Law perceives street ƒ Exploitation, violence ƒ MISA: social defense 3 NGOs ¼ CARITAS + children mainly as + abuse department (rehabilitation Egyptian Association for potential legal offenders ƒ Lack of legal of arrested street children) Child Protection + El ¼ punitive measures protection + social ƒ MoI: juvenile Hurriya Association offering: prevail, prevention + exclusion delinquency police + rehabilitation marginal drop-in center, transit ƒ Health problems, drug department of juvenile ƒ Protection from shelter center, street abuse, psychological delinquency to deal with exploitation + violence educators offering food, disorders delinquent street children ƒ Health care shelter, health care, literacy, ƒ MoJ: courts for ƒ Lack of education, counseling, vocational ƒ Education, vocational juvenile delinquents vocational training + skills training, recreation, family training, job placement development reconciliation ƒ Social rehabilitation + inclusion

(3) Extremely limited scope of existing of services: NGOs offer important services but are only able to capture a small fraction of street children. The total number of street children enjoying services offered by NGOs in Alexandria does not exceed 1500-2000.61 This is most likely only a small percentage of the total number in the city. There is a particular lack of shelter and other

60 interview with K. Sherif, March 2000 61 calculated based on figures stated in NGO reports

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services for girls. By their very existence, female street children represent an offence to public perceptions of decency and acceptable social behavior. This does often produce spontaneous rejection which is reinforced by the fact that street girls are frequently subjected to sexual abuse and involved in prostitution and illicit sexual relationships. Setting up drop-in and shelter centers for girls is thus a much more sensitive issue and likely to face public opposition. Most local communities do not want to have such centers in their vicinity but there are also fears by the general public that the availability of alternatives would encourage girls who feel oppressed by their families to leave home, thus undermining prevailing social values and public moral.62

3.4 Orphans and Abandoned Children

3.4.1 Size and Prevalence of the Phenomenon There are no precise numbers of orphans since the majority of them is integrated in extended family structures. The most vulnerable children are abandoned children, including abandoned orphans who are either referred to residential care institutions or foster families. UNICEF reports an increase in numbers of young children who were abandoned and placed in state care. In 1996, a total of 1,504 children were living in care institutions run or supervised by the State, in 1997 the number increased to 1,772 and in 1998 to 2,115. The number of foster families was reported with 4,461. Estimates are based on numbers released by the MISA which are, however, not well presented according to the report and thus not always clearly understood.63 Official statistics for 1996 indicate that the 6-9 years age bracket constituted 32% of the total number of children in State care, the 9-12 age bracket 5% and the 12-15 years age bracket 27%.64 In 2004, the director general of the department for family and child care at the MISA indicated the total number of children in residential care institutions with 7,837, including 1,423 children in boarding nurseries. 4,394 children were reported to live in foster families.65 These figures suggest that the number of children in institutions has almost quadrupled since 1998 while the number of foster families has slightly decreased.

Detailed figures on orphans and abandoned children in Alexandria were not accessible. According to a list provided by the Directorate of Social Affairs, the total number of orphanages and care institutions in Alexandria amounts to 18 institutions hosting a total of 711 children. No clear breakdown is available for boys and girls.

3.4.2 Problems and Issues (1) Underlying causes for children being abandoned: The main reason for children being abandoned are illegitimate sexual relations, poverty and family break-ups. Prevailing social and cultural values lead many women who became pregnant without being married to hide pregnancy and child birth and leave their children in front of mosques, churches, hospitals, near train stations or simply in the street. According to NGOs, poverty is also the main underlying cause for the increase of abandoned children. Unwanted pregnancies may cause severe economic problems for a family, particularly when the father shows up only occasionally or when spouses break up before the child is born.66

62 interview with Caritas Alexandria, March 2004 63 S. Jouma, June 2000 64 MISA Statistical Indicator Report for 1996/97, MISA 1997 65 quoted in Al-Ahram weekly, 8-14/4/2004, retrieved on 14/4/2004 at www. weekly.ahram.org.eg 66 See, for example, UNICEF 2002

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(2) Problems related to institutionalization: Due to a lack of sufficient family-based and other alternative care mechanisms, most abandoned children live in residential care institutions which offer little physical and mental stimulation and limited opportunities for children to learn social and creative skills. The institutional system also repeats early experiences of detachment since children are moved several times from institutions for younger to those for older children. These continued experiences of separation and up-rooting of social contacts frequently result in psychological and adjustment problems that continue into adulthood. Due to the unfavorable environment inside and outside, most children leave the institutions as adults with low educational and skills levels.67 Consequently, they are ill prepared to integrate themselves into society and often suffer all their life from mental and psychological problems. Unemployment is higher than national figures among those who have been raised in residential care institutions and even when they find jobs, they are often exploited when their background is known and tend to move a lot due to low payment and unfavorable working conditions.

(3) Deprivation and social exclusion: Society usually looks at children who are not raised with their biological parents with pity and perceives them as dependent, needy and completely powerless. At the same time, the children are treated with suspicion, distrust and avoidance. Children in institutions are believed to lack appropriate care (tarbiya) and thus show serious deficiencies in their social behavior, residential care institutions are often confused with reformatories for juvenile delinquents and abandoned children are often considered as the product of illegitimate relations. As a consequence of the latter, abandoned children frequently suffer from identity problems when growing up. Most Egyptian families do not appreciate their children building friendships with children in residential care institutions and only exceptionally would a family agree to marry their offspring to one of them. Emotional detachment and deprivation as well as stigmatization and isolation from mainstream society lead to low self- esteem and a negative self-image. Eventually, children internalize the negative image they are confronted with and tend to react with self-isolation and distrust, sometimes combined with aggressiveness. Their choices of action become thus confined to the limits of what society expects and in turn reinforce the prevalent perceptions and self-perceptions and the myth of being essentially different.68

(4) Neglect, violence and abuse: Being an orphan or an abandoned child signals also vulnerability and lack of protection. This facilitates the reportedly wide-spread neglect as well as physical, emotional and sexual abuse of these children in both residential care institutions and to some extent also in foster care families, either by members of the foster family or older peers and staff in institutions, but also in school, at the work place or by individuals on different occasions. Oral reports suggest that health care is often neglected and that the death toll of infants in boarding nurseries is alarmingly high. Various studies confirm that children in many institutions are regularly hit and beaten, verbally insulted, ridiculed and humiliated. Disciplinary measures are reportedly often inconsistent and sometimes extreme with heavy physical and other punishments being imposed because of petty violations of rules and regulations. Consequently, many children consider the institution as a prison which they would prefer to leave sooner rather than later. This is reflected in increasing incidences of run-away children as highlighted by NGOs working with street children.69

67 The above mentioned report of Save the Children points to the fact that most children depend on themselves with little coaching and guidance from outside the schools with the result of generally low educational attainment. 27% of adults who grew up in residential care institutions are reported as having dropped out from primary school, 30% at the intermediate level, 20% have completed secondary education and 14% vocational schools. Only 2% continued to diploma and 7% to university 68 Ghosheh, H., 2001 69 Reference to violence, emotional, physical and sexual abuse is made in the reports of UNICEF and Save the Children and has been confirmed through interviews with NGOs working with orphans and street children

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(5) Discrimination of orphans living with relatives: Orphans who are integrated into the extended family or are still living with one parent may also be subject to discrimination, neglect, exploitation or even abuse. If widows/ers marry again, for example, children from the earlier marriage might be experienced as a burden or not welcomed by the step-parent. The same is often true if orphan children live with the relatives of their parents. They may be discriminated against and exploited to serve other family members or work unpaid in family enterprises and may be deprived of education opportunities and proper social and health care. Sometimes, they are not granted their legal entitlements to inheritance under the pretext that their up-bringing has consumed all resources.

3.4.3 Legislation and Policies Care for orphans and abandoned children is traditionally perceived as a duty of the society as a whole. Over time, many traditional private and community care instruments have been transferred to the State that assumes today the overall responsibility to cater to the needs of children who are disadvantaged as orphans or cannot be raised altogether by their biological parents. The State is responsible to provide shelter and care for abandoned children and orphans until age 18 or until they complete higher education, either through state and private residential care institutions or through foster families which are all supervised by the State.

Based on provisions of the Islamic shari’a, full adoption entitling the child to adopt the name of the adopting family and inherit is legally not possible. Consequently, the care for abandoned children relies largely on institutionalization, although evidence indicates that family-based alternative care solutions are much more suitable to cater to the emotional and other development needs of children. Article 4 of the Child Law explicitly rules out adoption. Article 46 permits foster care by surrogate families. Conditions to raise a child in surrogate families are elaborated in the executive statutes of the Child Law.

Several laws regulate institutionalization and foster care for abandoned children and orphans who are not living with their extended families. The Ministerial Decrees No. 17/1968 and No. 63/1976 include terms of admission to foster care with regard to age, the child’s and the family’s circumstances, the procedures of admission and the nature of care programs suggested. Article 48 of the Child Law No. 12/1996 stipulates that children who are deprived of family care as orphans, children of broken families or families that are incapable of providing proper care for them can be placed in social care institutions between age six and age 18 or until they have completed higher education. Ministerial decree No. 181/1989 allows foster care families as an alternative form of foster care for children who are deprived of living with their biological families. Foster care families are supposed to provide social, psychological, vocational and health care for children between two and 18 years or until they finish higher education, in the case of girls until they are married.

Orphans are entitled to pensions under the social security Law No. 30/1977, modified by Law No. 88/1996, as well as the Child Law to compensate for disadvantages they face if one or both parents are not available. Orphans are also among those who are entitled to apply for financial and in-kind support at Al Azhar and the Ministry of Awqaf.

3.4.4 Responsible Government Agencies and Services The MISA has the overall responsibility to supervise residential care institutions, which are in most cases run by NGOs. There are three different types of institutions: (1) The Centers for Childhood and Motherhood Care are run by the government and are responsible to provide temporary care for lost or abandoned children under age three until a foster mother is found. In this case, the center has to follow-up with the foster mother who has to return the child after it

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reaches the age of two years. The centers also provide milk, food and clothes to the foster mothers. (2) Foster care nurseries provide full residential care to abandoned and lost children between age two and age six. In 1998, there were 30 such nurseries serving more than 500 children.70 (3) Social Care Institutions provide foster care for children between six and 18 years, (exceptionally 21 years).

The Ministry is also responsible to investigate whether the social and economic conditions of families who apply as foster parents are suitable for the child and is in charge to follow-up with the foster family to make sure that the child receives appropriate care. The foster family can in turn apply for financial support from the MISA. Support varies between 30 US$ and 74 US$ per month, depending on the age of the child. Only 544 out of the 4,461 children in foster care received financial support in 1996.71 In addition, the MISA distributes pensions and issues documents entitling orphans to access certain services for free or at reduced prices72. Orphans are, for example, exempt from fees for school books and are entitled to 20% reduction for tutoring classes. The MISA maintains also vocational training centers where orphans are admitted.

The MoH issues birth certificates for foundlings and lost children through its local health units. It certifies and supervises foster mothers for children between zero and two years and is supposed to perform regular health checks. Children in residential care institutions are also entitled to free health care. The MoI receives foundlings and lost children through local police stations that write a report and refer them to a care institution where they are given names and legal identities.

The courts under the MoJ issue decisions (qarar ida’a) to send orphans, foundlings and lost children to residential care institutions or hand them over to foster mothers (age 0-2) and foster families (age 3-18 or until they have completed higher education). Orphans are also among the beneficiary groups of a program of the Ministry of Awqaf (MoA) under which poor Muslim families and individuals can apply for financial or in-kind support on special occasions such as Ramadan and religious feasts. Al Azhar has a similar program under which financial support is allocated four times a year.

3.4.5 Services Offered by NGOs and Private Institutions Almost all orphanages and institutional care institutions have been established and are managed by NGOs and religious organizations. They are contracted by the MISA to deliver residential care services. Through this contracting arrangement and in accordance with the law, the government adopts a financial support and monitoring role. The MISA may second members of its staff to serve in the institutions. There appears to be little clarity as to how many are seconded and on what basis.

Residential care institutions offer shelter, food and clothing and according to resources vocational training, recreational activities and saving schemes to provide start money for children leaving the institution. Most institutions depend exclusively on the government regarding education and health care services. Some high resource institutions have contracts with private hospitals and doctors. All NGOs offering residential care for children are exempted from taxes and are eligible for discounts on public services. According to the MISA, 67% of the total income of residential care institutions for 1996 came from private donations, including the Kafalat al-Yatim program of the Gama’iya Shara’ia association (see below). Individuals usually donate money to such

70 El Kateb 1998, quoted in UNICEF, 2002, p.72 71 Khalil, S. 2001, figures for 1996 72 According to the MISA Egyptian Statistical Indicator Report of 1997, the total number of orphan beneficiaries in 1996/97 was 7,068. They received an estimated total amount of 281,563 US$ yielding approximately $40 per child per year

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institutions as a religious obligation or to receive tax reductions. In-kind contributions constitute a substantial proportion of donations. The total amount allocated by the MISA to residential care institution in 1996 was 559,521 US$, representing approximately 7% of the total MISA budget allocated to NGO activities (estimated at 8,849,557 US$) Although government contributions constitute only 6.2% of the overall income of all institutions together, it can cover up to 70% of running costs of an individual institution.73

The Kafalat al-Yatim program which has been established in 1984 by a religious NGO, the gama’iya shara’iya, has been one the most successful civil society care program for orphans. It is based on private donations trying to mobilize sponsors who are willing to donate regular amounts to be distributed to orphans via the numerous branches of the NGOs. However, the program caters only to Muslim orphans and the amounts disbursed are not augmented in accordance with the inflation rate. Usually, orphans get LE 10 per month as long as they are in school and also above age 13 if they dropped out of school. In addition, food and clothes are distributed in Ramadan and for religious feasts. According to the availability of sponsors, orphans may also receive additional support to support their education and health care.

There are also other religious NGOs as well as mosques and churches that run financial or in- kind support programs for orphans, according to resources either on special occasions or as regular support. They rely mainly on private donations which are an obligatory religious duty for Muslims in the form of zakat, i.e. a religious alms tax which is calculated as a percentage of the personal income and wealth for welfare purposes. A number of private companies make regular donations to be distributed to orphans. Toshiba, for example offers daily food for orphans with a carnet from the MISA and the restaurant chain Abu Shaqra distributes financial support to widows and orphans via local NGOs. Some private hospitals, physicians and pharmacies offer fee reductions to orphans.

3.4.6 Coverage, Gaps and Capacity-building Needs (1) Restrictions of family-based care: Although not without problems, it is widely accepted that raising a child with a family is superior to even the best institutional care. Obstacles to expand the foster family system are both related to policy and legislation and to procedural constraints. The legal and policy gaps are difficult to address since they are related to religious beliefs and thus politically sensitive. On the other hand, there are many families who would like to raise a child even under the current foster care system, either because they cannot have own children or because they feel encouraged to use their wealth for a “good cause”. However, the complicated and time-consuming procedures as well as prescriptions that foster care can only be provided until age 18 act as a deterrent. In addition, Egyptian law leaves the choice up to each orphanage to decide of their own accord whether to allow foster care or not. Many orphanage administrators are extremely reluctant to let a child leave to join a foster family, either because they are operating below capacity or because they believe that few childless couples are better equipped to care for orphans than they are.

(2) Welfare-oriented instead of rights-based approaches: Deficiencies with regard to institutional care seem to be less in quantity but in quality. According to the MISA, institutions are only operating at an average 67% capacity.74 They focus primarily on providing food and shelter and neglect the children’s personality, emotional and cognitive needs. The institutional structure, management and staffing tend to apply traditional authoritarian approaches based on control which allow no dynamic interaction with the children. Children are neither involved in the decision

73 MISA Statistical Indicator Report for 1996/97 74 MISA Statistical Indicator Report for 1996/97

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to be admitted to the institution nor do they have the chance to participate in other decisions concerning their lives, not to talk about decisions concerning the institution itself. Children’s “participation” is usually limited to domestic chores. This approach reiterates also the most traditional perceptions of girls’ social and gender roles as mother and caregiver. Girls’ choices and chances to acquire skills and make learning experiences are, therefore, very limited.75

(3) Lack of motivation and commitment of caregivers: There are usually three types of staff in residential care institutions: administrative staff, support staff (murabbiyin) who take care of the daily routine and specialists such as trainers and psychologists. The ratio of staff to children ranges between 1:3.5 and 1:40. Usually little or no technical training is offered to the staff by the MISA or the institution. Caregivers in many institutions are overworked and underpaid. They are hired without clear guidelines for minimum staffing or staff qualifications. Many institutions do not recruit specialists at all, particularly psychologists who could work with the children on emotional and behavioral issues. Only few offer vocational training and if training is offered, it is often of low quality and does not provide real marketable skills.

(4) Lack of integration and social inclusion: Residential care institutions are rarely integrated in local communities and make no attempts to cooperate with other NGOs, local community development associations (CDAs) or local service institutions such as youth and cultural centers to link children in their care with other children and community activities. There are usually no outreach or awareness-raising activities to increase acceptance and social integration and to combat discrimination in school, at work and in other areas of interaction with the society at large. On the contrary, children are rarely encouraged and often prohibited to interact with the outside world and are, apart from going to school, most of their time confined to the premises of the institution.

(5) Deficiencies in supervision and monitoring: There are serious gaps in monitoring of both residential care institutions and foster families. Monitoring systems focus on financial and administrative aspects. The periodic reports of the institutions are usually restricted to information on their financial status and the number of children since this is linked to budgetary aspects. In most cases they make no reference to activities and achievements. Most inspectors are poorly trained to assess the quality of the services offered. Many institutions tend to manipulate the daily routine when an inspection is expected and often prevent older children to talk to the inspectors.76 The foster family program has also been widely criticized for its weak monitoring and protection system. Reportedly, some foster families send children to work at early ages, use them excessively as domestic servants and in some cases children are physically and sexually harassed and abused. According to MISA statistics, 2,871 of all children in foster families did not go to school in 1996/97. Children have to leave care institutions at age of 18 or as soon as they complete higher education. Although, the MISA is supposed to follow up to ensure that they are able to cope alone, care leavers are essentially on their own and often ill prepared to find their way in social life and labor markets.

(6) Training and capacity-building needs: There are ample training and capacity-building needs to increase the quality of care and services provided for orphans and abandoned children as well as the performance of inspectors and supervisors. Capacity-building measures should aim at providing a better understanding of the situation and the special needs of orphans and abandoned children and promote a rights-based approach that does not merely conceive the children as powerless and helpless dependants but as active partners in their up-bringing and development. They should have a voice and actively participate in decisions concerning their lives and the institution’s organization and activities. In addition, institutional staff should be

75 Ghosheh, H., 2001 76 see the above mentioned report of Save the Children/U.K.

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trained to actively seek the cooperation of local communities and encourage children’s integration and participation in community life. Training is also needed for inspectors and supervisors to enable them to detect transgressions and service gaps and to act as supporters and advisors to the institutions as well as to foster families.

Table 7: Summary Orphans and Abandoned Children

Size Gaps + problems related Size (national) (Alexandria) to data Legislation + policies ƒ Child law No. 12/1996 No comprehensive statistics Number of children in ƒ No accurate statistics + various ministerial or accurate data available. residential care institutions ƒ No gender and other decrees regulate registered with MISA in breakdowns institutional and foster Orphans are often Alex: ƒ General lack of care integrated in extended research including ƒ Special provisions for family structures currently 711 in 18 qualitative research orphans in Child Law+ institutions social security law (pensions) Most important Activities of NGOs and Key Issues government agencies + other actors in Problems, gaps services Alexandria ƒ MISA: supervision ƒ All 18 orphanages and ƒ Lack of funds + ƒ Increase due to and support of residential residential care institutions resources poverty and family break- and foster care in Alexandria are run by ƒ Lack of alternatives to ups ƒ MoH: birth certificates NGOs residential care ƒ Social exclusion and + supervision of foster ƒ Gama’iya shara’iya institutions, particularly stigmatization mothers for babies NGO: kafalat al-yatim family-based care ƒ Vulnerability to ƒ MoI + MoJ: police program offering regular ƒ Welfare-oriented neglect, violence and stations + courts receive financial support to instead of rights-based abuse and refer foundlings to orphans approaches ƒ Deficiencies in health institutions ƒ Some small NGOs ƒ Lack of capacities and care, education, ƒ MoA + Al Azhar: attached to mosques offer motivation of caregivers vocational training + skills financial + in-kind support support to orphans ƒ Deficiencies in development to orphans monitoring and supervision

3.5 Children with Disabilities

3.5.1 Definitions There is no unified definition of disability and handicaps in Egypt. Even the terms used to refer to handicaps and disabilities vary according to different concepts and perceptions. Many NGOs tend to prefer the term “persons with special needs”, trying to emphasize that the disabled are an active and integral part of society but with special needs which have to be acknowledged and addressed. Others use the term “persons with disabilities”, thus expressing that these persons are only in some aspects and not totally handicapped or disabled. The NCCM and some other organizations have recently adopted the expression “at risk of becoming handicapped” which is particularly applied to children with disabilities. Using this term aims at emphasizing that becoming handicapped is not a necessary consequence of physical or mental impairments but that much can be done to alleviate or even overcome the consequences of these impairments.

The NCCM defines a person with special needs as “a person who suffers from impairments preventing him/her to play the role and execute tasks the same way as his/her peers of the same age, socio-economic and medical background do in the area of education or playing or vocational or academic formation or familial and other relationships”.77

77 flyer of the NCCM on strategies and activities for children with disabilities

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The Network of Associations Working with Disabilities define a disabled person as “a person who needs rehabilitation service to meet the basic needs in society because of impairments such as deficiencies of movement-related functions, sensory functions and mental functions which entails physical, social, economic and psychological disability”.

3.5.2 Size and Prevalence of the Phenomenon No comprehensive data on disabilities is available in Egypt. Data collection is obstructed by the fact that many families tend to hide handicaps and disabilities of their relatives or they are not aware that they suffer from such disabilities. Estimates of the total percentage of persons with disabilities vary considerably according to definition. They range between 3.5% (CAPMAS) and 10% (WHO). A sample survey of the umbrella organization for associations working with persons with special needs that covered a total of 13,812 families all over Egypt found that 4.9% of all Egyptians are handicapped with percentages in urban areas being considerably higher than in rural areas, i.e. 6.3%.78 Seti Center, a specialized branch of Caritas, estimates the number of persons with mental retardation alone at 1.5 Million of whom 98,150 are living in Alexandria. It mentions on its homepage that estimates in recent studies for 2000 including all forms of serious disabilities range between 3,85 and 4.7 Million people79.

According to the CAPMAS census of 1996, the total number of persons with disabilities amounts to 1,060,536 or 3.5% of the total population, including 151,510 persons with visual impairment (7% of all disabled), 90,906 suffering from hearing impairment (4%), 1,515,100 with mental disabilities (74%) and 303,020 with mobility impairment (15%). The Faculty of Physical Therapy/Cairo University provides a regional breakdown indicating figures for Alexandria as follows: the total number of persons with disabilities is 120,972 and includes 8,895 or 7.4% persons suffering from visual impairment, 5337 or 4.4% from hearing impairment, 88,950 or 73.5% from mental disability and 17,790 or 14.7% from mobility impairment.80 The Demographic and Health Survey 2000 estimates that about 8% of all children suffer from one or more disabilities. If this percentage is applied to the total number of children in Alexandria, the number would amount to 93,494 children between 0 and 18 years with disabilities.

3.5.3 Problems and Issues (1) Prevention and early detection: Information and awareness seems to be as important an issue as treatment. Low health awareness is certainly not only a reason for not detecting disabilities early enough to achieve maximum rehabilitation but is also one of the underlying factors for the high prevalence of the phenomenon. Particularly in rural areas, Upper Egypt and poor urban areas with high percentages of migrants from rural areas and Upper Egypt, it is still a preferred option to marry first cousins, thus increasing the probability of disability inheritance. Families who have handicapped or disabled children often become aware of the problem only when it is already late for successful intervention. Many families consider their disabled children as a social stigma and a burden and tend to hide them away instead of trying to identify appropriate rehabilitation measures. Specialists point out that 20-30% of disabilities, particularly mental disabilities, can be cured if detected and treated early enough.81

78 itihad hai’at al-fi’at al-khassa wa al-ma’niya, no title, 1997 79 Unfortunately, the studies are not indicated. See Seti’s homepage at www.redbay.com/newbies/med/ 80 Faculty of Physical Therapy/Cairo University, March 2002, p. 5 81 interview with Samia Sami, February 2003

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(2) Education and vocational training: Many children with disabilities need special education and training to become valued and productive members of the society. The Demographic and Health Survey of 2000 estimated the total number of children in need of special education at 600,000. However, according to the Ministry of Education, only 5% of them receive any schooling. Girls are even more disadvantaged than boys. Vocational training opportunities are very rare so that children with disabilities remain largely dependent on their relatives when they grow up. The low level of enrolment is partially due to the unavailability of appropriate education but partially also to the fact that some parents do not send their disabled children to school even when they have the option. Some of them do not believe the children need or are capable of receiving an education. Others are not convinced because of the poor quality or bad reputation of the special schools which suffer usually from a shortage of resources and low levels of human capacity. A study of the Suez Canal University in Ismailia in 1998 showed that some schools operate below capacity despite the shortage in student places for children with special needs.82 Most of those who receive an education are confined to special schools or special classes in regular schools. Experiments with inclusive education are still new to Egypt. Pilot projects proved, however, successful and had a positive impact on the quality of teaching in general.

(3) Stigmatization and social exclusion: Families and the wider community tend to perceive children with disabilities as deficient and dependent which results in permanent social exclusion and isolation. The prevalent practice of separating and isolating children with disabilities deprives them of active participation in social, economic and community life. No provisions are made to design public space, public institutions and transportation services that allow children with disabilities to access services and move freely and safely. Social stigma and misconceptions of disabilities lead to a double disadvantage of children with special needs. Not only do they have to cope with their disabilities but also with emotional deprivation, discrimination and low self-esteem. They are also vulnerable to maltreatment and humiliation, particularly those living in rehabilitative care institutions where emotional, physical and sometimes even sexual abuses are not uncommon.83

3.5.4 Policies and Legislation Egyptian policy deals with handicapped and disabled children predominantly from a medical point of view and focuses on the physical or mental impairments rather than on the rights of the children. Children with disabilities are primarily perceived as a problem and in need of special, i.e. isolative and institutionalized care. In recent years, however, this situation seems to change slowly. Following a national conference held in 1995, a comprehensive national strategy to address issues related to disability has been developed in collaboration of government agencies and NGOs. It was officially endorsed in 1997 and encompasses prevention, early detection, community based rehabilitation (CBR), information and registration as well as better cooperation and integration between governmental agencies, NGOs and international donors working in the field of disability. The emphasis of CBR as an alternative, inclusive and cost-effective model of addressing disability, in particular, represent an important step in changing perceptions. A National Committee for Limiting Disability with members from the government and NGO activities was founded to increase preventive measures and early intervention. The Health Card and health insurance for children from the day of their birth were partially introduced to facilitate early detection of disability.

82 UNICEF, The Situation of Egyptian Children and Women, August 2002, p.64-65 83 see, for example, The Egyptian Center for the Rights of the Child, About the Rights of Children with Special Needs, Report published on the organization’s homepage at www.egyptcrc.org /nashra/04/nsh2.html but also UNICEF 2002 and JAICA 2002

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Law No. 39/1975 includes some provisions for persons with disabilities, however, exclusively from a labor perspective. It makes no special reference to children. The Child Law, law No. 12/1996, however, contains 11 articles addressing disabled children and protecting their rights. With article 76, the law explicitly entitles them to “enjoy special social, health and psychological care, which increases their ability to depend upon themselves and facilitates their integration and participation in society”. Articles 77 through 86 elaborate the rights of disabled children to rehabilitation, education, vocational training and work. The law compels, for example, every employer with 50 and more employees to employ at least 5% disabled workers out of which 2% have to be children nominated by the Labor Office. Still, disability experts criticize that the law does not address social and environmental barriers sufficiently and falls thus short of guaranteeing full integration of disabled children into society and community life.

Persons with disabilities are eligible for a number of pensions, namely pensions according to Law No. 30/1977 modified by Law 88/1996, the Sadat Pension Scheme and the Mubarak Social Solidarity Program.

3.5.5 Responsible Government Institutions and Services The MISA has a special department dealing with handicapped and disabled persons, the department of social rehabilitation (DSR). It distributes substitute apparatuses and operates rehabilitation centers (usually through local NGOs), physical therapy centers, protected workshops, incubators and factories employing persons with disabilities. In 1996, the total number of beneficiaries from these services was 61,808. In addition, the MISA supervises and sometimes supports NGOs that provide services to persons with disabilities in day and residential care institutions. The ministry’s financial contributions reach up to 8% of the total income of all institutions. There are currently 39 residential rehabilitation institutions for children with disabilities providing services to 1,716 children84. The MISA administers also pension disbursements and issues also carnets that entitle persons with disabilities to benefit from certain services such as public transportation for free or at reduced prices.

The MoE provides special education services for children with disabilities, particularly the visually, hearing and mentally handicapped. Currently, the ministry runs 165 special schools and 204 schools with at least one or more special classrooms for children with disabilities85. In 1999, a total of 27,907 students have been enrolled in special education classes.86 The MoH has no specific department responsible for disability related services. The Ministry is, however, responsible for the elimination of the causes leading to disabilities as well as early detection and treatment through regular check-ups, operation, medical rehabilitation and vaccination. The MoY organizes periodic competitions of handicapped which have had a positive effect on public sensitization and appreciation.

Recently, the NCCM has adopted a prominent role in increasing awareness about disability related issues, particularly concerning children, as well as promoting rights-based and innovative services such as CBR. It introduced an Arabic webpage and a disability telephone hotline, both providing information and advice to families with disabled children.87 The NCCM plans for further activities with the objectives to encourage research, set up a database, provide policy guidelines and increase prevention, early detection, scope, quality and distribution of services. It aims also

84 Ghosheh, H. 2001, p. 33, 36 and 44 85 quoted in JAICA, op cit., p.9 86 UNICEF, The Situation of Egyptian Children and Women, op cit., p. 64 87 the website address is www.specialneeds.org.eg and the telephone hotline number is 08008886666

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at increasing coordination between rehabilitation services, awareness, social integration and participation of local communities and disabled children in the design and provision of services.

Some universities have faculties which cooperate with governmental and non-governmental actors to provide their expertise and training. Individuals attached to these faculties or university hospitals are sometimes personally engaged in service provision or even form NGOs attached to the institutions they work in. Medical professionals in the Shatby hospital in Alexandria, for example, have founded an NGO and established local rehabilitation units and an outreach program in cooperation with the MoH and local NGOs. The program was supported by a World Bank sponsored program in the MISA. The Faculty for Pre-School Education of Tanta University has cooperated with community associations in the informal area of Manshiet Nasser to train local volunteers and establish integrated pre-school classes in kindergartens.

3.5.6 NGOs and International Donors Many NGOs provide services which are much more innovative, participatory and inclusive than those traditionally provided by governmental agencies. Examples are CEOSS with 28 projects serving around 3,000 persons, AHED serving around 300 children and the Seti Center/Caritas with 10 projects (one in Alexandria) serving around 800 children with mental disabilities. Most activities are based on CBR models, are rooted in local communities and try to mobilize local resources based on a community development approach that involves all local actors and institutions. Professional NGOs working in the area of disabilities provide also training to government employees, caregivers in institutions and local NGOs and CDAs. Some focus on research and advocacy.

Seti Center, in particular, has worked on inclusive education projects. Although these projects tend to meet considerable initial resistance of parents, teachers and school administrators, evaluations show that the benefits are mutually beneficial for both mentally handicapped and non- handicapped children. Teachers who participated in the intensive training provided by Seti learn how to use a wide range of visual, artistic and movement based teaching methods that are for all children superior to traditional top-down approaches based on lecturing and memorization. Children in inclusive classes were often found more attentive, showed higher ability to concentrate, developed more social and communication skills and were less aggressive.88

In Alexandria, altogether 29 NGOs offer services to handicapped and disabled persons: 5 for persons with mental disabilities, 4 for the blind, 3 for physically handicapped, 2 for the hearing and speaking impaired, 9 for those with disabilities due to serious illness and 6 for those suffering from miscellaneous disabilities.

Various international donors support projects targeting children and adults with disabilities, most prominently the World Bank, UNICEF and Save the Children/U.K. The World Bank sponsored Social Protection Initiatives Project (SPIP, 1999-2004) is located in the MISA and aims at developing integrated and innovative programs for children with disabilities and children at risk which are envisaged to be later adopted as standard programs by the MISA. The project supports activities which are proposed and implemented by NGOs and is funded with 5 Mio. US$ of which 2.7 Mio. US$ are reserved for specific disability activities. Save the Children runs a project to promote inclusive education. Project activities include training of teachers, parents and local community representatives as well as support to schools to establish inclusive classrooms. UNICEF has sponsored research, inclusive education initiatives and a number of local projects in cooperation with NGOs.

88 The results of the evaluation were summarized in a short report: Inclusive Education Project, Seti Center, 2002

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3.5.7 Coverage, Gaps and Capacity-building Needs (1) Limited scope and outreach of existing services. The NCCM reports that only an estimated 1-2% of persons with disabilities have access to services and that whole categories of disabilities are not addressed by governmental service providers at all, particularly severe and multiple disabilities, children below age four and above age twelve, children with learning disabilities, CP and autistic children.89 Educational services are a particularly pressuring problem since only an estimated 5% of children with disabilities are enrolled in school90. According to the Center for the Rights of Egyptian Children, only 9.8% of persons with disabilities at the legal working age are actually employed – despite the provisions in the law that compel employers to hire 5% persons with disabilities91. There is also an uneven regional distribution of services with rural, remote and poor urban areas being particularly underserved. NGOs are usually implementing pilot projects and lack the financial and human resources to expand these projects on a larger scale.

(2) Limited effectiveness and cost efficiency of service provision. Prevalent approaches still focus on treatment and cure and neglect prevention and early detection of disabilities. The number of inherited disabilities and persons who eventually develop permanent handicaps and disabilities is thus increased. The lack of inclusive and integrated, community-based rehabilitation programs renders service provision not only costly but increases disability related psychological problems and perpetuates discrimination, vulnerability, isolation and exclusion. This is particularly true for disabled girls and children who are locked away in residential institutions. There is also a serious lack of participation of disabled children, their families and the wider community although participatory approaches are crucial for effective service provision and also to combat stigmatization and mobilize support from mainstream society.92 NGOs and the NCCM have acted as pioneers promoting integrated and innovative approaches which could be adopted as standard programs.

(3) Lack of trained personnel and certain specializations (e.g. speech and occupational therapy): Neither government employees who are directly charged with service provision nor caretakers in educational and vocational training institutions and health centers nor most of the staff in traditional rehabilitation centers run by NGOs are sufficiently qualified to understand and deal with the special needs of disabled children. There is a serious lack of training opportunities and of resources to transfer successful experiences through capacity-building measures. Monitoring and evaluation systems are usually poor and those in charge are not equipped with the necessary skills.93

(4) Lack of research and data. No regular, comprehensive and comparable data collection systems are in place to provide sufficient information on the roots, nature and prevalence of disabilities as well as on access to services, living conditions, perceptions and tendencies. Available research and documentation of experiences is not widely circulated.

89 NCCM, National Report on Follow-up to the World Summit for Children, December 2000, p. 15 90 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey, Childhood Disability Report, May 2000 91 Center for the Rights of Egyptian Children, Response to the Report of the Committee on Violence, retrieved on 25/3/2004 from www.egyptcrc.org/report/03/rel.htm, p. 4 92 interview with Samia Sami, Fabruary 2003 93 see UNICEF 2002

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Table 8: Summary Children with Disabilities

Size Gaps + problems related Size (national) (Alexandria) to data Legislation + policies ƒ Contradicting figures ƒ Child law No. 12/1996 CAPMAS 1996: 1,060,536 Estimates for Alexandria and estimates due to includes provision for the persons with disabilities (total number of persons different definitions + protection and (3.5% of total population) with disabilities): methodologies development of disabled ƒ Cairo University ƒ No accurate gender children Other estimates for urban based on CAPMAS and other breakdowns ƒ Provision for disabled areas vary between 6.3% figures: 120,972 ƒ Lack of research on in pension laws and 10% of the total ƒ CARITAS: 98,150 problems + living ƒ National Strategy to population conditions Address Issues Related to Disabilities Most important Activities of NGOs and Key Issues government agencies + other actors in Problems, gaps services Alexandria ƒ MISA/department of ƒ 29 NGOs providing ƒ Lack of prevention, social rehabilitation: services to persons with ƒ Limited scope + early detection + substitute apparatuses, different types of outreach of existing intervention voc. training schemes, disabilities: 5 mental, 4 services ƒ Lack of education + rehabilitation centers, blind, 3 physical disabilities, ƒ Limited effectiveness vocational training physical therapy 2 hearing + speaking + cost efficiency ƒ Stigmatization + social ƒ MoH: responsible for impaired, 9 disabilities due ƒ Lack of trained exclusion early detection + to serious illness, 6 personnel, particularly in miscellaneous disabilities ƒ Vulnerability to treatment institutions violence + abuse ƒ MoE: special ƒ WB, UNICEF, Save (particularly girls) education the Children run support ƒ NCCM: public programs, mainly through awareness, policy advice, MISA and/or NGOs information through Website and telephone hotline

3.6 Displaced and Refugee Children

3.6.1 Definitions There is a range of terms and definitions to classify persons who seek refuge in countries other than their countries of origin. The most important definitions used in international human rights instruments to protect the rights of these persons are the following:

Refugees

(1) Definition of the United Nations: a refugee is “someone who is outside his/her country of origin, has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion and is unable or unwilling to avail him/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution”.94

(2) Definition of the Organization of African Unity: The OAU repeats the definition of the UN but expands it to include “any persons compelled to leave their country owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order in either part or the whole of his country of origin or nationality".95

94 This definition of a refugee appears in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees which provides the internationally recognized general definition of the term “refugee”. Egypt has ratified the Convention 95 Organization of African Unity, Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, adopted in 1969 with Egypt as a signatory. The Convention broadens the definition of the 1951 Convention and covers also persons

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Palestinian refugees are a special sub-category. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) defines as Palestinian refugees “those people, and their descendants, who lived in Palestine two years prior to the 1948 hostilities and who lost their homes and livelihood as a consequence of the conflict”.96

The term "refugee" also applies to unaccompanied children who are war orphans or whose parents have disappeared, and who are outside their countries of origin. Such children, 16 years of age or younger, are entitled to all possible priority assistance, including assistance in repatriation in the case of those whose nationality can be determined. In the absence of a universally accepted definition of the term “refugee children” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) uses this expression is for refugee, asylum-seeking and displaced children of concern to UNHCR up to the age of 18. The same formula has also been adopted in Article 1 of the United Nations Draft Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Externally Displaced Persons are “people who, as a result of armed conflict, internal strife, systematic violations of human rights, natural or human-made disasters or development projects, have been forced to flee their homes and have crossed an international border, but who are not legally recognized as refugees”. Many persons within this category are not included in the mandates of the UN and other providers of humanitarian assistance although they may be assisted by them.

De facto refugees are a sub-category of externally displaced persons. They are “persons not recognized as refugees within the meaning of Article 1 of the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and who for reasons recognized as valid (especially war and generalized violence), are not willing to return to the country of nationality or, if they have no nationality, to the country of the habitual residence”. They are externally displaced persons who are generally treated as refugees but lack the formal designation.

Asylum seeker are “people who cross borders and appeal for refugee status on grounds of fear of persecution for political, ethnic or religious reasons or membership in a particular social group”. Decisions on asylum status are made by governments based on their interpretation of the refugee definition contained in the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol for those countries that have signed the protocol.

A stateless person is “someone who is not considered to be a national by any State under the operation of its law. He/she may be, but is not necessarily, a refugee”.

Economic migrants are “persons who leave their countries of origin purely for economic reasons, to seek material improvements in their lives… other than refugees, economic migrants enjoy the protection of their home countries … Economic migrants do not fall within the criteria for refugee status and are therefore not entitled to benefit from international protection as refugees”.97

fleeing civil disturbances, widespread violence and war. These persons are entitled to claim refugee status in states that are parties to the Convention regardless of whether they have a well-founded fear of persecution 96 UNRWA was not given a mandate to protect the Palestinian refugees; that responsibility was implicitly left to the countries in which they took refuge. Palestinians outside the areas where UNRWA operates (including Egypt) fall under the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 97 All definitions can be found on the Website of the UNCHR under www.unchr.ch

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3.6.2 Size of the Phenomenon The largest number of refugees in Egypt come from Sudan (ca. 60%), the remaining 40% originate from some 35 different countries. More than half of these are from sub-Saharan African states but there are also refugees from Afghanistan, Albania, China, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Ukraine - in addition to those who seek asylum from Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen. The World Refugee Survey 2003 Country Report Egypt98, reports that the total number of refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt includes some 20,000 Sudanese, 7,000 Somalis and more than 1,000 refugees from various other countries. There are also between 50,000 and 70,000 Palestinians the majority of whom has been displaced form the West Bank and Gaza by the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

According to statistics of the UNHCR, altogether 80,494 recognized refugees were living in Egypt in 2002 in addition to 12,094 applicants whose status determination cases were pending. 36% of them were children below 18 including 47% females. Around 1,000 persons seeking asylum in Egypt contacted the UNHCR each month in 200299. During the same year, the agency granted refugee status to 4,996 persons, 7,566 cases were rejected which yields a recognition rate of 38.8%. Altogether 10,494 of the recognized refugees were living in Cairo, the rest spread all over the country. The UNHCR did not publish any figures for Alexandria.100

Estimates about the actual number of refugees are much higher since they include those who have no hope of being recognized due to difficulties to provide sufficient documentation or because they do not fall into the internationally recognized categories. Many refugees never had or lost documents which could provide evidence of personal persecution during their flight. Those who cannot apply or who are rejected by the UNCHR usually stay since many have no safe place to go. There are no records indicating how many remain in Egypt after their files have been closed. Most concerned agencies estimate the total number of de facto refugees at more than one million. In addition, thousands of migrants live in Egypt after having fled their country for economic reasons. The number of Sudanese alone is estimated to have reached between one101 and five Million.102

The Sudanese Development Initiative Abroad (SUDIA) mentions that although most are living in Cairo to stay close to important agencies, an increasing number moves to Alex and other secondary cities where living conditions are cheaper and where it is easier to find work. Safe the Children estimates the number of refugees living in Cairo at 30,000 and those in Alexandria at 2000-5000. An article from August 2001 in Egypt Today talks about 3,000 – 4,000 Sudanese living in Alexandria, most of them refugees. The All Saints’ Cathedral which has a tradition of offering services to refugees estimates the total number of refugees in Alexandria at approximately 500 persons only.

98 Published by the US Committee for Refugees, a non-profit organization which was founded in 1958 to coordinate the United States' participation in the United Nations' International Refugee Year (1959). The World Refugee Survey is published annually in addition to periodical in-depth country reports. See online: www.refugees.org 99 The number of refugees and asylum seekers is increasing. During the past four years, it has increased ten-fold. The UNHCR has employed more than 20 additional staff during 2002 to cope with the increase and reduce the accumulated backlog of asylum applications 100 2002 UNHCR Population Statistics (provisional), downloaded from the UNCHR Website: www.unchr.ch 101 minimum estimate of the SUDIA and the Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence 102 maximum estimate of the World Council of Churches for 2001, quoted in World Refugee Survey 2003

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3.6.3 Problems and Issues (1) Illegality and insecurity: Most refugees stay illegally in Egypt and are thus living in constant fear from detention and deportation. Although the majority of illegal immigrants have probably entered the country for economic reasons, thousands have also come because their life is in danger in their home countries. About 20,000 have had their cases rejected by the UNHCR in the last five years, but most of them remain in Cairo, often without valid passports.103 Their children are among the most vulnerable and the least provided for. Although the Egyptian police tends to turn a blind eye, there are enough arrests and deportations to ensure that all people without residence permits live an extremely insecure existence.

Most refugees arrive in Egypt with little understanding of what applying for asylum involves, but unaccompanied minors are especially vulnerable to the hazards of misinformation and abuse of all kinds. There is no responsible agency appointing caretakers to unaccompanied children. The UNHCR has instituted a system for ‘fast tracking’ status determination of unaccompanied minors, but information regarding this provision is often not available to the children. The responsibility for tracing the relatives of refugee children is left to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), but there is no support agency that tries to find and direct these children to this agency.

(2) Poverty and social exclusion: The majority of refugees live in crowded housing conditions in destitute refugee and immigrant communities in Cairo and Alexandria, mainly in suburbs and areas with little infrastructure and few facilities. Most of them live in rented apartments where the rent consumes an excessive portion of the family's low income leaving very little over for the other needs of the children, including food. Unless recognized by the UNCHR, most refugees depend on informal jobs and means of income. Even if recognized, employers must obtain a work permit to legally hire a refugee, as for any other foreign employee. This requires that no Egyptian can be found to fill the specific post. Therefore, refugees are often working informally as domestic laborers, construction workers, porters at the airport and in train stations etc. These jobs are badly paid, unprotected and do not secure a stable income for the household. Those without any legal residency are particularly vulnerable to being exploited. When mothers, who are often the main breadwinners, go out to work they are usually forced to leave their young children alone, locked in the home.104 Both poverty and the exclusion from any public services prevents participation in public and community life and leads to social isolation and exclusion, which is particularly detrimental to children’s development.

(3) Education: Except if granted official refugee status by the UNHCR, refugee children and children without Egyptian nationality in general have no right to free education in government schools. Consequently, most refugee children in Egypt are not being educated. Transportation, school fees for non-state schools, clothing and school materials can be unmanageable expenses for parents who often cannot afford their rent. In addition, trips to and from school can be dangerous for unaccompanied young children whose parents are working, particularly if they are not officially recognized. Even recognized refugee children are often deprived of schooling due to bureaucratic barriers, ignorance of the recent ministerial decrees and social obstacles. A recent study found that only 2% of recognized refugees manage to get accepted into state schools.105

(4) Health problems and traumata: Many refugee children suffer from under- and malnourishment and are not entitled to the rationed goods and government-subsidized services

103 figures released by the UNCHR can be obtained at the organization’s website www.unchr.ch 104 interview with S. Fayad, September 2003 105 Dingemans, E., Cairo 2002

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provided to poor Egyptian families, including food and health care. 106 The only exception is immunization which is offered for free to refugee children, though many are not aware of this. Because of their socio-economic situation, skin diseases, malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies and parasitic infections are rampant among refugee children as well as the urban poor in general. Refugee children often stay all day in cramped housing units with no space to play or other activities. Due to overcrowding and poor hygiene conditions, certain diseases like, for example, tuberculosis are on the rise among refugees. Refugee children may also suffer special mental health problems, either related to traumata due to the circumstances that made them leave their countries but also due to the conditions of exile. Although not admitted to be a social problem, discrimination against sub-Saharan Africans is widespread in Egypt. The mental health implications of suffering racist discrimination is recognized by psychologists, but psychological services for refugees in Egypt are largely limited to victims of torture.107

(5) Vulnerability and violence: Apart from unaccompanied minors, the disabled and those who have been in refugee camps for extended periods are particularly vulnerable. Many refugee children and unaccompanied minors in particular are also at high risk to suffer from abuse and violence in their daily life in Egypt. Domestic violence is widespread due to the enormous pressure and uncertainty about their future that refugee parents have to endure. The majority of refugee children spend most of their time in the street without supervision by adult guardians. Due to the lack of activities they can do, harassments and fights are frequent among refugee children and youth and also between them and their Egyptian peers. Sexual relationships and pregnancies at an early age are also not uncommon. Refugee children, both male and female, are not unlikely to become involved in prostitution, either because they are alone and have no other means to support themselves or because family members encourage them to do so as one of the few means to increase family income.108

3.6.4 Legislation and Policies Article 53 of Egypt's 1971 Constitution provides the right to asylum “for every foreigner persecuted for defending the people’s interest, human rights, peace or justice”. Egypt has, however, not enacted any domestic law regulating refugee matters. In 1981, the GoE ratified both the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its additional 1967 Protocol as well as the 1969 OAU Convention on Refugees. However, it entered eight reservations regarding the 1951 Convention, the most important of which are Art. 12 (personal status), Art 20 (rationing), Art 22 (access to primary education), Art. 23 (access to public relief and assistance) and Art. 25 (labor legislation and social security). The reservations deny refugees the right to work, the right to free primary education, entitlements to government subsidized health care and benefits from rationing of certain food items and basic commodities.

Palestinian refugees represent a special case. In 1965, Arab League members committed themselves to treating Palestinians equally as nationals, most importantly with respect to mobility, free education and work, without however jeopardizing their Palestinian identity through such measures as naturalization. Therefore, the GoE never asked for UNRWA’s assistance. As a consequence, ever since 1978, subsequent generations of Palestinian refugees cannot attend Egyptian public schools, must pay university fees in foreign currency and cannot work legally without a work permit. Sudanese are another special case. Until the late 1980s, Egyptian law made migration from Sudan to Egypt extraordinarily easy and automatically granted permanent

106 The UNHCR in Egypt has reportedly even prevented other organizations from providing nutrition to refugee children who are not officially recognized. See Harrell-Bond et al., Cairo 2001 107 Harrell-Bond, B. et al. 2001 108 Harrell-Bond, B. et al. 2001

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resident status to Sudanese migrants. Egyptian officials even offered citizenship to many Sudanese residents. After 1995, however, Egyptian authorities tightened legal restrictions to curb the influx of largely economic Sudanese migrants.109 The result are thousands of illegal immigrants.

There is no law that deals with refugee children. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Egypt has ratified, applies to all children without discrimination, including child refugees and asylum-seekers. The Convention specifically stipulates that every child seeking refugee status has a right to protection and humanitarian assistance in accordance with the rights set forth in that Convention and in others to which the State is a party. However, the provisions of the Convention have not been incorporated into Egyptian law. Refugee children are not covered by the rights laid down in the Child Law and no other law addresses their needs. Under Egyptian law, children can only acquire the citizenship of their father, even if they were born in Egypt of an Egyptian mother, unless the father is stateless or unknown. This means that children of with an Egyptian mother but a refugee father cannot acquire Egyptian nationality, nor do their children.110 They are consequently denied free access to public services such as education and health care. This law disadvantages refugees on an inter-generational level and undermines any prospects of integration into Egyptian society. The total number of children with Egyptian mothers but without Egyptian nationality is estimated at around one million.111

3.6.5 Responsible Government and International Agencies There is no Egyptian government agency charged with the responsibility of assisting asylum seekers; they must fend for themselves. The Egyptian government gives permission to the UNHCR to determine the refugee status of individual asylum seekers. Asylum claims are addressed to the UNHCR office in Cairo. If accepted, refugees are referred to recipient countries according to quotas112. In 2001, Egyptian authorities started to provide registration cards to refugees and asylum seekers whose status determination cases are still pending enabling them to obtain temporary residence status and enhance their legal protection. They are also allowed to seek work. They are, however, still excluded from government-subsidized health care. The UNHCR provided technical assistance to relevant Egyptian authorities in preparation for the eventual transfer of responsibility for registration and refugee status determination to the government of Egypt.

During the period between official recognition and departure, refugees can apply for financial support to the UNHCR and free access to public services paid for by the UNCHR. Palestinians are granted humanitarian assistance on a case-to case basis. Of the estimated 10,000 recognized non-Palestinian refugees in Egypt, only impoverished refugees identified by a strict Needs Assessment Committee as “the most needy” receive limited aid from the UNCHR such as a monthly subsistence allowance, partial education grants for families with school-aged children, medical care and vocational training. Financial constraints curtailed UNHCR’s assistance

109 Since the attempt on President Mubarak’ s life in Ethiopia, which was allegedly carried out by Sudanese, all newly- arriving refugees are required to possess visas and apply for asylum as other nationalities. Those who arrived before 1995 are in an ambiguous position when their passports expire. If they are indeed refugees, they cannot go to their embassy to renew their passports but must seek asylum 110 Following years of advocacy work of NGOs and women’s organizations, the Egyptian President has announced in 2003 that a new citizenship law will be prepared which shall permit Egyptian nationality for children of Egyptian mothers and foreign fathers, published in various press articles 111 Number indicated at the Website of the Egyptian Council for Women at www.ncw.gov.eg 112 According to the World Refugee Survey 2003, nearly 2,000 refugees from Egypt have been permanently resettled in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe in 2001 as part of a formal resettlement process administered by the UNCHR, other agencies and foreign governments. Almost 1,800 were Sudanese and the rest mainly Somalis.

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programs during 2001 and further in 2002. During the past four years, UNHCR’s budget has decreased by more than 40 percent, while the number of refugees has increased by more than 40 percent and the number of asylum seekers has grown by more than 500 percent. The agency cut already inadequate subsistence allowances for the poorest refugees to about 15$ per refugee per month during 2002, a reduction of more than 70 percent compared to four years earlier.113

The ICRC provides travel documents for resettling refugees, traces people reported missing, facilitates Egyptian exit visas for those referred through the UNCHR or embassy of the host country to which the refugee is traveling. The International Organization of Migration (IOM) processes US-bound refugees referred by the UNCHR and handles resettlement applications for Australia, Canada and several European countries.

3.6.6 Services Offered by NGOs Only few NGOs offer services to refugees. Some initiatives have been set up by refugees themselves. Musa’deen is an initiative of trained refugees who assist other refugees in preparing for their first interview with the UNCHR and to follow up their case. The SUDIA offers computer and IT training and various other support services. The Sudanese Victims of Torture Group (SVTG) provides psychological and medical help as well as various rehabilitation activities for Sudanese victims of torture and violence.

The Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence which is run by Egyptian medical professionals offers medical and psychological support to victims of torture and other forms of violence and within the constraint of scarce resources also to other refugees. The Hisham Mubarak Center for Legal Aid (HMLC) and since 2001 also the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) offer free legal advice to refugees. In Alexandria, the Association of Human Rights Legal Aid (AHRLA) offers legal advice and assistance with official procedures as well as support to register refugee children in regular Egyptian schools. The El Saray Church in Alexandria offers some educational and health services to refugees.

There are only few services for refugee children. A few Egyptian NGOs provide health services, however, on a very limited scale. A number of vocational and skills training programs as well as kindergartens and learning centers have been set up, usually in association with churches. Kindergartens accommodate altogether ca. 2,500 children of both non-recognized and recognized parents, the latter being a tiny minority of those in need. A recent study of SUDIA and Save the Children/U.K., however, found that the majority of the facilities are poorly equipped and caretakers insufficiently trained with many of them resorting to beating and other means of violence to keep control of the children114.

3.6.6 Problems, Gaps and Capacity-building Needs (1) Legal gaps: Due to the inability to provide sufficient documented evidence of personal persecution, most refugees in Egypt are not officially recognized. Other than in most European countries, there are no provisions in Egyptian law for granting 'humanitarian' or 'B' status to persons who do not meet the standards set in the 1951 UN Refugee Convention but who cannot be returned to their countries because of the continued threat that exists to their lives. Consequently, persons with 'closed files' remain on the margins of society living illegally without valid passports or residency permits. Their children are among the most vulnerable since no protection is granted to refugee children under Egyptian law.

113 Figures published in the World Refugee Survey 2003 114 Save the Children U.K / SUDIA., Cairo 2004

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(2) Institutional gaps: There is no Egyptian agency dealing with refugees and refugee children. Unaccompanied children, in particular, do not find any orientation or support to get access to shelter and care and to cope with official procedures. No agency is responsible to inform institutions such as schools and health facilities, which have to accept at least the children of recognized refugees, about procedures as stipulated in the relevant ministerial decrees.

(3) Service gaps: Only a tiny fraction of refugees living in Egypt has access to any kind of services. Even assistance offered by the UNCHR does not cover all recognized refugees. The Egyptian government provides almost no services to refugees and their children and the efforts of NGOs are far from adequate to address the scale of the problem. They are unable to meet the needs of everyone that approaches them and some of them are reproached to discriminate on the basis of religion.

(4) Capacity-building needs: As long as the above mentioned gaps are not addressed at the policy level, possibilities to improve the situation of refugees and refugee children are very limited. Information about the stipulations of ministerial decrees on the right of refugee children to education should be widely circulated among school administrations and some training could be given to NGO staff enabling them to provide advice and information on existing support services. NGOs could also be encouraged to adopt an advocacy role and to campaign for the inclusion of refugee children as beneficiaries of the rights granted to children under the Child Law.

Table 9: Summary Displaced and Refugee Children

Size Gaps + problems related Size (national) (Alexandria) to data Legislation + policies

UNHCR (2002): 80,494 No statistics available for ƒ Contradicting ƒ Art. 53 of the recognized refugees, Alexandria estimates due to different Constitution provides right 12,094 cases pending, definitions of refugees and to asylum 7,566 cases rejected Estimate of Save the lack of accurate data with ƒ Ratification of all Children: 2000-5000 breakdowns of different relevant international %age of children <18 y.: refugees in Alex types of refugees human rights instruments 36% ƒ Lack of research on on refugees, however with %age of females: 47% problems + living reservations

conditions ƒ Provisions in Other estimates vary constitution + international between 1 million + 5 conventions not translated million refugees into laws Most important Activities of NGOs and Key Issues government agencies + other actors in Problems, gaps services Alexandria ƒ No governmental ƒ Illegality and institutions responsible for ƒ Association of Human ƒ Serious legal and insecurity dealing with refugees Rights Legal Aid offers institutional gaps ƒ Poverty + social ƒ UNHCR determines legal advice and ƒ Health, education and exclusion refugee status and refers assistance to register other services only ƒ Lack of education and recognized refugees to refugee children in available to small fraction health care host countries schools of refugee children ƒ Vulnerability to ƒ ICRC issues travel ƒ El Saray Church violence + abuse documents and facilitates offers some health and (particularly girls) exit visa educational services

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3.7 The Girl Child

3.7.1 Problems and Issues The previous sections have already highlighted that due to gender-related discrimination girls are at double risk of being deprived of their rights, exploited or even abused. However, there are a number of areas in which girls in general even if they do not belong to one of the risk groups are vulnerable to deprivation and rights abuse, most prominently the following:

(1) Education: Although considerable progress has been achieved during the past two decades to increase school enrolment and narrow gender gaps, girls above nine years are still twice as often as boys likely to be illiterate. While only about 1% of boys at primary school level are assumed to be out of school, the estimated percentage of girls reaches 10%.115 The gender gap in favor of males is believed to be mainly related to poverty. Basic education is costly and does not promise high returns on future income and marriage chances. On the other hand, when performing household chores on a large scale, girls may have a significant expenditure-saving function. As among boys, one of the most important reasons for dropping out of school is failure in exams.116 However, there are also gender-related factors which render schools sometimes extremely unattractive for girls. The widespread lack of separate and appropriate sanitary facilities, for example, represents a major problem particularly at the onset of puberty.117

In Alexandria, the gender gap has narrowed down considerably. With 26.5%, illiteracy rates of females above 15 are considerably lower than the national average of 45.8% but females still represent 78.2% of all illiterates. There is also a gender gap at primary school. In 2000/01, the number of girls for every 100 boys enrolled in primary school has been 94.4 although they account for 96.7 for every 100 boys in the respective age group. At preparatory and secondary school level, however, girls figure much more favorably than their male counterparts. There are 100.2 girls for every 100 boys enrolled in preparatory school and 112.2 in secondary school.118

(2) Female genital circumcision (FGC): Although the practice has declined during the past decade, the vast majority of adolescent girls is still subjected to circumcision with all its negative consequences regarding girls’ physical well-being as well psychological and sexual development. According to the 2000 Demographic and Health Survey, the current percentage of circumcised girls between 13 and 19 years is 86% whereas the prevalence of circumcision among ever married women aged 15-49 is almost 10% higher. The rate among girls of mothers with secondary education is only 48%, confirming the assumption that education is negatively correlated with female circumcision. Findings of a survey of the Population Council indicate that the proportion of mothers who intend to circumcise their daughters decreased to 81%, the percentage of adolescent girls who believe that circumcision is necessary is only 36% (as opposed to 61% of boys), thus confirming that the phenomenon is slowly decreasing. Various sources point to the fact that there is a tendency of medicalization with 61% up from 55% in 1995 having circumcision performed by trained medical professionals (doctors, nurses or midwives).119 This might be interpreted as a response to numerous cases of serious health implications or even deaths which have been reported in the media during past years.

115 NCCM, National Report on Follow-up to the World Summit for Children, December 2002, p.12 116 Assaad et. al., 2001 117 interview with Sanaa Tobah, October 2002 118 EHDR 2003, p.139 119 El Gibaly, O. et al., Cairo 1999, p.18 f.

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(3) Early marriage and forced marriage: Egyptian law sets the legal age for marriage at 16 for girls and 18 for boys. The age difference between spouses should not exceed 25 years. There are no comprehensive statistics about early marriage and forced marriages. A study of the Population Council covering 9,128 adolescents all over Egypt found that the prevalence of marriage before age 16 among girls was reportedly 2%. However, since 28% of married adolescents above age 16 stated that they have married below the legal age, the study assumes that early marriage has been under-reported out of fear of legal ramifications. The rate of those who marry between 16 and 19 years was found at 5.2% in urban governorates. More than 62% of married adolescents reported that their fathers had the final decision whom they would marry.120 There is no data on forced marriage although periodic reports in the media suggest that a sizable number of girls are subject to marriages against their will. A particular problem represents the phenomenon of poor families marrying their daughters to wealthy husbands from the Gulf States who are often much older. In some cases, these marriages last only for the summer season and if the woman gets pregnant, her child is not eligible to Egyptian nationality.

(4) Social status and discrimination: Indicators such as physical mobility, decision-making authority and access to resources can be used to define the status and development chances of women. In this respect, prevalent perceptions of gender roles lead to a range of discriminations against girls, notably restrictions of movement and participation in social and community life and consequently deprivation of learning experiences and personal development chances. Girls’ chastity and behavior in public are still perceived as a question of honor for the whole family and all family members tend to be concerned with the control of girls’ movements and activities, suppressing her conduct, her opinions, her choices and even her thoughts. This has a disempowering effect and lowers girls’ self-consciousness and self-esteem.121 Activity patterns become almost abruptly segregated when children reach puberty with girls often being heavily involved in household chores whereas boys are encouraged to seek an active role with peers outside the house. A study on gender-role attitudes highlights that although adolescents have internalized traditional perceptions which attribute major decision-making powers in the family to husbands, the proportion of both boys and girls who favor shared decisions has increased compared to previous generations with girls being slightly less conservative than boys.122 Since autonomy and independence are always linked to access to resources, it should be mentioned that it is not uncommon that girls are deprived of part or all of their inheritance share which is by law anyway only half of that of boys.

(5) Violence and sexual abuse: There are no statistics about violence and sexual abuse against girls, neither at home nor at the work place or in institutions. An in-depth survey of 1998 covering a sample of 2,170 preparatory and secondary school students in Alexandria found that 38% have been physically punished by their parents, many of them were beaten with sticks, belts, hoses or metal chains or have been tied up, burnt or scalded. In more than one quarter of the cases, punishment resulted in physical injuries, mainly bumps and bruises. The survey pointed out that girls are more often beaten than boys although not necessarily more severely.123 Intra-familial sexual abuse is rarely reported but certainly exists. It is often hidden to protect the family honor

120 Tawila, S., Cairo 1999, p. 178 ff. 121 Informal interviews and discussions of the author with around 100 adolescent girls in different neighborhoods of Cairo over several years confirm that girls of all educational levels suffer from a serious lack of self-esteem. Although often reiterating prevalent perceptions of appropriate gender roles at the normative level of discussions, many of them – when talking about concrete experiences - consciously attribute their strong feelings of inferiority and uncertainty to the fact that they are deprived of freedom of movement and opportunities to pursue their interests outside the domestic sphere 122 Mensch, B.S. et al., 2003, p. 8-18 123 Youssef et al., 1998, p.960 ff.

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and, unless caught red-handed, adult relative molesters or rapists can often count on being able to blame the girl or claim that she lies.

3.7.2 Legislation and Policies Article 2 of the Egyptian constitution as well as the Child Law prohibit any discrimination based on sex. However, a range of discriminatory provisions are found in the Personal Status Law as well as the Penal Code. While men can divorce, for example by simply pronouncing a certain formula, women have to resort to the court and undergo an often costly and time consuming procedure. If they want to divorce according to the Khulla procedure which was introduced in early 2000 to facilitate divorce against the husband’s will, they have to renounce certain rights to retain property or obtain financial assistance. Women are only entitled to half the inheritance share of males, can only apply by themselves for passports and identity cards if they are above 21 and unmarried, have to expect more severe punishments than males if they murder their spouses and have to accept polygamy.

No special provisions are made in the Egyptian legislation to protect the girl child and children in general from being wounded, beaten or sexually abused. No law does explicitly define the limits of acceptable disciplinary measures at home. Only Article 19.2 calls for the establishment of programs for identifying and following up cases of child maltreatment. The law penalizes act of rape of a reluctant female by hard labor, temporarily or for life but no distinction is made between the rape of an adult and that of a child (Article 267/1 of the Penal Code)

Articles 241 and 242 of the Penal Code consider FGC as a form of deliberate damage to be penalized. The law establishes criminal liability of the girl’s parents based on the principles of complicity, instigation and acquiescence. After the MoH has issued decree No. 261/1997 banning FGC from being performed in public hospitals and clinics, the penalty also applies to the physician who practices FGC. Penalties are even stricter for dayas or para-medical personnel since they are accused of practicing medicine without a permit. Due to widespread social acceptance of the practice, the law is however not very strictly enforced.

The Child Law prohibits marriage of girls below age 16. Marriage is also not permitted if the age difference between spouses exceeds 25 years in order to protect girls from being de facto “sold” to rich but significantly older spouses.

On the policy level, there is an increasing concern to combat gender biases and protect the rights of the girl child. In January 2001, the First Lady, Suzanne Mubarak, announced the “National Campaign to Increase the Rights of the Girl Child”. Education and FGC are listed as the two most important issues regarding the girl child’s rights. The “National Project to Combat Female Circumcision” started in January 2003 with the FGM Free Village Model. Also in January 2003, the National Plan for Girls’ Education was launched by the First Lady, including the Girls’ Education Initiative which was integrated into the National Five-Year Plan 2002-2007 as a separate component with separate budget allocations. The initiative aims at achieving parity between boys and girls in basic education enrolment by 2005.

3.7.3 Agencies, Serives and Programs The NCCM, the MISA, the MoH and the MoE are all partners in the campaign to eliminate FGC in Egypt in addition to nine other ministries who are part of a supporting committee. Other partners comprise a number of NGOs and the National FGM task force, an advocacy movement of NGOs and professionals which has been established in 1994 following the International Conference for Population and Development. A new program is implemented in 60 villages in six governorates (excluding Alexandria) in its first phase of three years. The program tries to “reverse

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existing community peer pressure so village communities can emancipate themselves and their girls from the practice of FGM.”124 The project includes capacity-building for local NGOs, a family outreach program, a social marketing and communication component, a general community services initiatives component and a monitoring and assessment component. It builds on previous experiences of NGOs and addresses FGC at four levels: awareness-raising for the community at large, use of influential community members as change agents, integration of counter-FGM activities into a broader community development approach and advocacy activities to influence the media and the general public.

Together with the NCCM and local NGOs, the governorate-level branches of the MoE are the main partners to implement the Girls’ Education Initiative. 18 other ministries as well as CAPMAS and the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) are members of a national task force to support the initiative. The initiative includes five major components: the completion of a comprehensive database, a public awareness and community mobilization program, the expansion of girl friendly schools, poverty alleviation measures and an M + E unit.

The MISA runs a network of nationwide 93 family guidance and counseling offices that focus on marital counseling and but do not address specific problems and concerns of girls. The approach is traditional and the offices are usually not integrated with other community initiatives. In addition, the MISA has an outreach program of social workers (ra’idat igtima’iya) who are usually recruited from among the local community. They are, however, poorly trained and underpaid and consequently not motivated to fulfill an active role. Usually, they confine their efforts to supporting beneficiaries of pensions who have difficulties to collect the pensions themselves. The MISA has also a unit for the rehabilitation of victims of violence and runs a number of centers that offer shelter, medical and psychological support to sexually abused girls, particularly to those whose parents refuse to let them live with the family after having been raped. No detailed information could be obtained about these centers.

The MoH has also an outreach program of community health workers which is supposed to increase health awareness and address also health issues of specific interest to adolescent girls. The program suffers, however, from the same problem as the one run by the MISA and has thus a very limited effect. Both the NCCM and the National Council of Women (NCW) have implemented activities such as conferences and the production of PR material to sensitize the media and the general public about issues relating to the girl child, including attempts to change negative stereotypes and gender-biases.

A wide range of NGOs run projects targeting girls. These include literacy classes, incentives to prevent school drop-out, anti-FGC activities, social and health awareness campaigns as well as skills development programs. Some of the most successful initiatives are the “New Horizon Program” implemented by CEDPA through local NGOs, the “Girls’ Dreams Program” implemented by ADEW and the “Ishraq” program sponsored by Save the Children. Following different approaches, all programs aim at empowering girls through increasing their awareness and skills levels, encouraging stronger interaction with the general community, providing learning experiences and influencing the attitudes of the family and the wider community to broaden the socially accepted range of actions for girls. Because of its high sensitivity, violence and sexual abuse are rarely tackled. The Nadeem Center that offers medical aid and psychological treatment on a limited scale is one of the few exceptions.

124 NCCM, The FGM-Free Village Model, EGY/02/008

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3.7.4 Gaps and Capacity-building Needs (1) Social and psychological assistance to adolescent girls: Girls in the large metropolitan centers are more than in any other area exposed to rapid social change such as changes in the labor market, increasing percentages of un- and underemployment among male household heads, growing anonymity and erosion of social networks, increased family break-ups and extremely high daily stress levels. These changes represent serious challenges to traditional gender roles. Girls know that they cannot depend anymore on husbands being able to provide for the family and want to be partners. Being able to share new responsibilities, however, requires new skills, behavior patterns and life experiences. Parents are ill prepared to provide guidance in this respect and often insist on traditional perceptions of what roles and experiences are appropriate for girls. The discrepancy between the normative construction of role models and the requirements of a rapidly changing socio-economic reality results in strong feelings of tension, uncertainty and frustration among girls as well as in tendencies of alienation between the two sexes. This is reflected in the increasing incidence of depression and psychological disorders.125

Table 10: Summary Girl Child

Size Gaps + problems related to data (Alexandria) Legislation + policies ƒ Constitution and Child Law 570,853 female children between 0 Lack of research on specific issues, prohibit gender based discrimination and 18 years e.g. early and forced marriage ƒ Penal Code considers FGC as damage to be penalized, FGC banned in public health institutions ƒ Child Law protects girls from early marriage ƒ National Campaign to Increase Right of the Girl Child ƒ National Project to Combat Female Circumcision ƒ National Girls Education Initiative Most important Activities of NGOs and Key Issues government agencies + other actors in Problems, gaps services Alexandria ƒ National FGM task ƒ Gender gap in literacy force incl. MISA, MoH, Wide range of programs ƒ Lack of outreach and primary school MoE, NCCM, NCW, incl. programs and links to enrolment NGOs etc. literacy, skills training, community initiatives ƒ Female genital ƒ MISA : social workers, prevention of school drop- ƒ Lack of social and circumcision family counseling offices, out, anti-FGC campaigns, psychological assistance awareness-raising activities ƒ Early marriage and centers for the + guidance for adolescent forced marriage rehabilitation of victims of girls ƒ Social discrimination violence ƒ Insufficiency of ƒ Vulnerability to ƒ MoH: health services to support victims violence + sexual abuse awareness outreach of violence program

(2) Outreach programs and links to community initiatives: The total number of social workers and health educators is far too low to cover all female children and adolescents in need of assistance. Social outreach workers and health educators are poorly trained and underpaid. They lack motivation and commitment and are not linked to community initiatives. Programs are not well designed and do not include all issues of interest to children, adolescent girls and their families. Approaches tend to be top-down and not empowerment oriented.126

125 The NCCM has started to acknowledge the problem and has organized a conference on “Adolescent Depression” on April 8, 2004 which covered also roots and symptoms of increasing depression among adolescent girls 126 interviews with F. Moneim, October 2001, and E. Fawzi, March 2004

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(3) Paucity of social services to support victims of violence: Even when abuses come to the attention of doctors or social workers, they are rarely followed up and the children concerned therefore remain in the abusive environment. Childcare professionals are in general insufficiently aware of and poorly trained in dealing with child abuse and the abuse of female children in particular. Coordination between medical services, social services and legal authorities in handling abuse cases is generally poor.127

4. Summary Assessment of Service Provision to Vulnerable Children

4.1 Government Service Provision There is no overall strategy for the protection of vulnerable children and thus also no mainstreaming strategy. The absence of an overall strategy impedes effective planning and program design. The non-existence of mainstreaming efforts leads to the fact that much potential for improvement is not used. There is, for example, almost no link between physical and social planning when it comes to the design of service facilities and public space. Physical upgrading measures are not complemented by social and economic development interventions and public space is not designed to incorporate distinct needs of street children, children with disabilities and girls.128 Street children and children with disabilities, for example, need protected areas - physically handicapped also with provisions to facilitate movement - and girls are not allowed to use public space if this entails potential harassment by males which is, for example, often the case in youth and cultural centers with no separate areas for girls. Many service facilities are inaccessible for children with disabilities and health and skills development centers with services for working children are often out of reach.

The general lack of information and the fact that available information is not readily shared obstructs the detection of unaddressed needs and efficient targeting. Among the most urgent needs of vulnerable children which remain largely unaddressed are health care services for street children and working children, the elimination of hazardous and extremely stressful working conditions of children as well as children’s protection against maltreatment, violence and abuse. Collection and analysis of information for monitoring and evaluation purposes is another area with serious deficiencies in quantity and quality. Impact assessments in particular are very rare. M+E mechanisms are usually low in quality and do thus only play a marginal role for better planning, targeting, program design, program management, supervision and human resource development.

Many existing services suffer from limited effectiveness and efficiency which is mainly due to deficiencies in program design, strategy and approach as well as to institutional deficiencies and lack of understanding and commitment of executive staff. These factors are interlinked since they produce frustration among staff and employees at the expense of motivation and innovation. Other factors relate to a general lack of funding and staff, high internal hierarchies, unclear lines of authority and competency, inefficient division of tasks, ineffective recruiting and human resource development practices and weak incentive systems. Another major underlying cause of problems related to effectiveness and efficiency is the lack of participation of beneficiaries and local communities as well as the lack of integrated approaches and cooperation with other actors within a strategic development framework. These aspects are, however, particularly crucial when tackling such complex issues as poverty, child labor and street children. Cooperation among government agencies as well as with NGOs is generally weak and rarely institutionalized and

127 Human Rights Watch 2003 128 own experience in participatory planning and budgeting exercises for the national five-year plan in Cairo and Giza

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depends largely on personal relations and the effort of individuals.

The tables on the following pages give a detailed overview of services offered by governmental agencies as well as the responsibilities of different actors and problems related to service delivery.

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Table 11: Poor Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers Target Contribution to Research/ Service Planning/ Resources/ Monitoring/ Non GoE Coordination/ group Key Issues policy design Statistics provision/ law program design finance supervision service cooperation enforcement providers Children ƒ Deprivation ƒ MISA ƒ MISA ƒ MISA ƒ MISA ƒ GoE through line ƒ MISA ƒ international ƒ SFD with NGOs from ƒ “Inheritance” of ƒ MoP ƒ MoP/NIP ƒ MoAwq ƒ SFD ministries ƒ SFD NGOs ƒ MISA w. NGOs poor poverty ƒ NCCM ƒ Donors ƒ MoLD ƒ Prod. Family ƒ Donors (EC, ƒ Multi-donor ƒ national NGOs ƒ (MoLD with families ƒ Vulnerability to Project WB, UNDP, bi- Review of SFD ƒ local CDAs local ƒ Universities + ƒ Al Azhar crisis lateral donors) (scheduled communities) (directly research ƒ SFD ƒ (MoLD) ƒ Mosques and every 2 years) + through ƒ Social exclusion institutes ƒ Bank Nasser ƒ (YGEO) churches ƒ Prod. Family family/ ƒ Prod. Families Project commu- ƒ (YGEO) nity)

Table 12: Poor Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches Target Main services/ Data/research Legal/policy Service gaps Coverage gaps Program design/ Institutional/ Coordination/ M+E group actions gaps gaps approaches implementation cooperation mechanisms Children ƒ Poverty studies, ƒ Contradictory, ƒ No policies/ laws ƒ Pensions too ƒ Insufficient ƒ Lack of ƒ Partially: weak ƒ No overall ƒ Partially from HD reports contested, targeting poor low coverage of integrated incentive sys- coordinating inexistent or poor ƒ Safety net/ pen- comparison children ƒ Lack of support pension approaches tems to improve body ineffective families sion schemes difficult ƒ Lack of pro-poor and incentives to schemes + SFD ƒ Lack of effective performance ¼ Weak but existing: ƒ If M+E, results ƒ Community dev. ƒ Lack of info on planning in keep children in programs participatory lack of ƒ Among gov. often not taken + infrastructure urban poverty macro-economic school ƒ Partially mechanisms + motivation + agencies into serious projects in poor incl. detailed policy design ƒ Free access to inefficient community commitment ƒ Between gov. consideration areas geographic ƒ Lack of recreational + targeting of empowerment ƒ Management actors + NGOs ƒ Lack of in-depth ƒ Support to start breakdowns resources cultural services pension ƒ No market- deficits ƒ Among NGOs impact assess- schemes + SFD businesses ƒ No targeting of for children orientation of ƒ Reporting ƒ With community ments, particul. programs ƒ (Shorouq program) poor children Prod. Family Pr. systems initiatives credit programs

Table 13: Poor Children: Priorities and Possible Actions Target Priority issues Best practices/ Proposed Approach/ Actors Capacity- Actors NGOs Capacity- Other actors group entry points actions strategy governmental building needs building needs Children (1) Deprivation and (1) Local NGOs (1) Acknowledge (1) Pilot areas, ƒ MISA (1) Monitoring of (1) Local (1) Targeting N.N from exclusion issue carnets for carnets of gradual ƒ MoY targeting + community (1) Investigation to poor (2) Promotion of poor children NGOs expansion beneficiaries organizations assess poverty ƒ MoC families participatory + entitling to free (2) Development of (2) Mainstreaming (2) Technical, con- (2) Professional (2) Conceptual+mo- empowerment services strategic ceptual + mobi- NGOs bilization skills approaches framework lization skills

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Table 14: Working Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers Target Contribution to Research/ Service Planning/ Resources/ Monitoring/ Non GoE Coordination/ group Key issues policy design Statistics provision/ law program design finance supervision service cooperation enforcement providers Working ƒ Working ƒ MoMM ƒ CAPMAS ƒ MoMM ƒ MoMM ƒ GoE through line ƒ MoMM ƒ NGOs ƒ Inter-ministerial Children conditions ƒ MISA ƒ NIP ƒ MISA ƒ MISA incl. SPIP ministries ƒ MISA ƒ ILO steering ƒ Industrial safety ƒ NCCM ƒ NCCM ƒ MoY ƒ MoY ƒ International ƒ NCCM ƒ UNICEF committee and health ƒ MoMM ƒ NCCM ƒ NCCM donors (mainly ƒ Inter-ministerial ƒ Other donors ƒ NCCM ILO, UNICEF, ƒ Vocational ƒ MISA ƒ MoE ƒ Inter-ministerial steering ƒ NGO support training + reme- USAID, WB) ƒ Universities + ƒ MoH steering committee center dial education research ƒ (MoALR) committee ƒ Boy Scouts ƒ Recreation institutions Movement ƒ FEI ƒ GFTUE

Table 15: Working Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches Target Main services/ Data/research Legal/policy Service gaps Coverage gaps Program design/ Institutional/ Coordination/ M+E group actions gaps gaps approaches implementation cooperation mechanisms Working ƒ Inspection of ƒ Info at local level ƒ Working children ƒ Medical insurance ƒ Lack of VTC ƒ Lack of ƒ Lack of ƒ NCCM with local ƒ Often non- Children enterprises ƒ Info on MSMEs in policies regar- ƒ Quality of servi- ƒ MCC not in all participatory awareness + CDAs existent, ƒ Vocational and informal ding education, ces, particularly governorates approaches commitment ƒ Donors with technically weak training sector health + SMEs VC + remedial ƒ Pioneers ƒ No market- ƒ Lack of techni- NGOs or not impact ƒ Health care for ƒ Info on domestic not addressed education Centers + Child orientation of VC cal, manage- ƒ NGOs with local oriented trainees in VTC servants ƒ Law enforcement Welfare Centers ƒ Non-integrative, ment, mobiliz- communities ƒ Medical Com- ƒ Standardized ƒ Labor inspectors not in all areas single compo- ation, negotia- ¼ often weak on muter Cards periodic surveys do not fulfill nent or one-shot tion + problem- all levels solving skills ƒ Pioneers advisory function interventions Centers ƒ Literacy classes ƒ Sports and recreation

Table 16: Working Children: Priorities and Possible Actions Target Priority issues Entry points/ Proposed Approach/ Actors Capacity- Non-govern- Capacity- Actors other group best practices actions strategy governmental building needs mental actors building needs Working (1) Protection (1) Combined (1) Limit working ƒ Build strong (1) MoMM ¼ child ƒ Conceptual, ƒ Professional ƒ Conceptual, ƒ local MSMEs Children (2) Prevention of inspection + hours + literacy/ links with local labor division + technical, NGOs (N.N.) technical, ƒ Boy Scouts drop-out advisory role of education/ VT + communities to child welfare la- management, ƒ Local CDAs management, Movement (3) Recreation labor inspectors improvement of bor units + MISA involve key mobilization, ƒ Informal mobilization, ƒ Media (2) Drop-out pre- industrial safety + MoH ¼ Dep. actors, mobilize negotiation + community negotiation + vention centers (2) Provide support of occup. health, ƒ N.N. support + re- problem-solving groups problem-solving (3) UNICEF/ Boy to families with sources, increa- health centers skills skills ƒ Influential Scouts program at risk children se awareness + (2) MoE ¼ drop-out community (3) Offer recrea- link w. existing centers + MISA leaders tional activities services (3) MoY, MoC¼ local YC + CC ƒ all: district heads

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Table 17: Street Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers Target Contribution to Research/ Service Planning/ Resources/ Monitoring/ Non GoE Coordination/ group Key Issues policy design Statistics provision/ law program design finance supervision service cooperation enforcement providers Street ƒ Health + drugs ƒ MISA ƒ MoJ ƒ MoJ ƒ NCCM ƒ GoE through line ƒ MoJ ƒ NGOs ƒ NCCM Children ƒ Education, VT ƒ NCCM ƒ MoI ƒ MoI ƒ MISA ministries ƒ MISA and skills ƒ MoJ ƒ MISA ƒ MISA ƒ Donations of ƒ NGOs ƒ Exploitation, ƒ ACCD Egyptian private companies violence, abuse ƒ NGOs ƒ International ƒ Social exclusion ƒ Research donors centers ƒ International organizations

Table 18: Street Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches Target Main services/ Data/research Legal/policy Service gaps Coverage gaps Program design/ Institutional/ Coordination/ M+E group actions gaps gaps approaches implementation cooperation mechanisms Street ƒ Arrest ƒ Lack of info and ƒ Street children ƒ Health + drugs ƒ Most services ƒ No special ƒ No departments ƒ Between NGOs, ƒ Virtually non- Children ƒ Reformatories statistics on all subsumed under ƒ Education + VT only NGOs, programs charged with MISA, police, existent ƒ Detention levels children ƒ Social + psychol. services can existing care courts and centers ‘exposed to rehabilitation only capture ƒ No sympathy + reformatory delinquency’ fraction of street institutions¼ ƒ Life skills understanding of ƒ National strategy children police, judiciary partially existing ƒ Special services existing but not + institutions¼ but very weak for street girls implemented yet lack of commit- ment + skills ƒ Lack of super- vision of police + institutions

Table 19: Street Children: Priorities and Possible Actions Target Priority issues Entry points/ Proposed Approach/ Actors Capacity- Actors NGOs Capacity- Actors other group best practices actions strategy governmental building needs building needs Street (1) Protection from (1) Training of po- (1) Awareness + (1) Training + dia- (1) MoJ ¼ judiciary (1) + (2) + (3): ƒ CARITAS ƒ Mobilization + ƒ N.N Children violence + lice + institutions skills developm. logue (1) MoI ¼ police + ƒ Understanding ƒ GEACP cooperation abuse (2) Admission to (1) Monitor + (2) Mobilize support institutions of problems + ƒ HADCE skills (2) Health care hospitals publicize abuse of health (2) MoH ¼ health needs, dealing ƒ Local CDAs ƒ Understanding (3) Support of NGO (3) Links of NGOs (2) Agreements w. providers centers + with street of problems + efforts to supportive health providers (3) Establish working hospitals children needs, dealing indiv. in gov. (3) Standardize group + mobilize (3) MISA, districts, (3) Awareness, with street agencies best practices of support from MoC, MoY, N.N conceptual, children (local support governor + loc. cooperation, CDAs) communities skills

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Table 20: Orphans and Abandoned Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers Target Contribution to Research/ Service Planning/ Resources/ Monitoring/ Non GoE Coordination/ group Key Issues policy design Statistics provision/ law program design finance supervision service cooperation enforcement providers Orphans ƒ Emotional, ƒ MISA ƒ MISA ƒ MISA (directly or ƒ MISA ƒ GoE through line ƒ MISA ƒ NGOs ƒ MISA¼ dep. of and physical and ƒ NCCM ƒ Residential care indirectly ministries ƒ Mosques and family and aban- mental neglect + institutions through NGOs) ƒ Private churches childcare doned deprivation ƒ Researchers ƒ MoH donations children ƒ Social exclusion ƒ MoJ + stigmatization ƒ MoI ƒ Violence+ abuse ƒ (MoA, Al Azhar) ƒ Low educational, VT and life skills

Table 21: Orphans and Abandoned Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches Target Main services/ Data/research Legal/policy Service gaps Coverage gaps Program design/ Institutional/ Coordination/ M+E group actions gaps gaps approaches implementation cooperation mechanisms Orphans ƒ Provision of ƒ statistics not well ƒ policies obstruct ƒ quality health ƒ not enough ƒ welfare instead of ƒ lack of motive- ƒ no links with ƒ generally weak and shelter, food + presented + not solutions based care, incl. psy- foster mothers rights-based tion + commit- local supervision, aban- other basic readily shared on family care chological care and foster approaches¼ ment of care- communities mainly restricted doned needs ƒ lack of qualita- ƒ ƒ support to chil- families due to disempowering ¼ givers and staff ƒ little exchange of to finance + children ƒ Provision of tive research on dren in school red tape + only basic needs, ƒ no participation experience administration identity problems+needs ƒ quality vocation- reluctance of not promotion of of children in ƒ lack of skills to ƒ Pensions ƒ lack of info on nal training pro- institutions to overall develop- organization of detect and the fate of care viding marketa- release children ment of children institution intervene in leavers ble skills ƒ lack of participation ƒ lack of technical case of violence ƒ preparation + in decisions and conceptual and abuse follow-up of care ƒ lack of socially inclu- skills + training ƒ no impact leavers sive approaches ƒ lack of specialists assessments

Table 22: Orphans and Abandoned Children: Priorities and Possible Actions Target Priority issues Entry points/ Proposed Approach/ Actors Capacity- Actors NGOs Capacity- Actors other group best practices actions strategy governmental building needs building needs Orphans ƒ Social exclusion ƒ unclear ƒ improve health ƒ train MISA+MoH ƒ MISA ƒ improve under- ƒ NGOs running ƒ Understanding ƒ N.N. and ƒ Violence + care employees to ƒ MoH standing of pro- institutions of problems + aban- abuse ƒ promote partici- improve supervi- ƒ (MoE) blems + needs ƒ Local CDAs needs doned ƒ Education, VC, patory + inclu- sion + service ƒ monitoring + ƒ N.N. ƒ Sensitization + children general life skills sive approaches provision supervisory sills mobilization ƒ Health care ƒ improve ƒ train staff in ƒ conceptual skills skills monitoring + institutions ƒ outreach, mobi- supervision ƒ sensitize + en- lization + coope- ƒ link orphans to courage commu- ration skills other activities nity initiatives + NGOs

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Table 23: Children with Disabilities: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers Target Key Issues Contribution to Research/ Service Planning/ Resources/ Monitoring/ Non GoE Coordination/ group policy design Statistics provision/ law program design finance supervision service cooperation enforcement providers Children ƒ Prevention + ƒ MISA ƒ CAPMAS ƒ MISA ƒ MISA ƒ GoE ƒ MISA ƒ NGos, mainly ƒ MISA with dis- early detection ƒ NCCM ƒ Population ƒ MoH ƒ MoH ƒ International ƒ MoH CEOSS, AHED ƒ National abilities ƒ Education, VT, Council ƒ MoE ƒ MoE donors ƒ MoE CARITAS/Seti + Committee for NGOs running skills ƒ MISA ƒ NCCM ƒ NCCM ƒ Private Limiting residential ƒ Stigmatization + ƒ Itihad hai’at al- donations Disability ƒ MoY ƒ MoY rehabilitation social exclusion fi’at al-khassa ƒ NCCM institutions) ƒ Protection from ƒ Universities + maltreatment + research abuse institutions ƒ NGOs

Table 24: Children with Disabilities: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches Target Main services/ Data/research Legal/policy Service gaps Coverage gaps Program design/ Institutional/ Coordination/ M+E group actions gaps gaps approaches implementation cooperation mechanisms Children ƒ Rehabilitation ƒ No regular, com- No major gaps ƒ Prevention ƒ Education + VT ƒ Focus on cure, ƒ Lack of trained ƒ Strong coopera- ƒ Gov. agencies with dis- ƒ Special education prehensive + ƒ Early detection + ƒ All but prevention personnel + tion between usually weak abilities + voc. training comparable data intervention particularly rural, neglected certain skills specialized ƒ Lack of impact ƒ Substitute colledtion¼ lack ƒ Public remote + poor ƒ Non-inclusive ƒ Lack of funding NGOs + local assessments apparatuses of info on roots, awareness- urban areas approaches + resources partners nature + preva- ƒ Pensions raising underserved ƒ Lack of ƒ Lack of motiva- ƒ Weak coopera- lence of disa- tion among gov. ƒ Fee reduction for ƒ Education + VT ƒ Not enough sub- participatory + tion + commitment bilities as well as agencies + gov. services ƒ Rehabilitation of stitute appara- integrated ƒ Weak supervi- needs + access agencies, NGOs some disabilities tuses available approaches sion of institutions ƒ Support to find to services + loc. communities employment ƒ Sport championships

Table 25: Children with Disabilities: Priorities and Possible Actions Target Priority issues Entry points/ Proposed Approach/ Actors Capacity- Actors NGOs Capacity- Actors other group best practices actions strategy governmental building needs building needs Children (1) Scaling up of (1) Existing CBR + (1) Training + action (1) Mobilization + ƒ MoH ƒ technical skills ƒ Specialized ƒ technical skills N.N. with dis- CBR approach + inclusive program to cooperation of ƒ MISA ƒ mobilization + NGOs (mainly ƒ mobilization + abilities inclusive projects expand CBR specialized ƒ MoY cooperation Seti/Caritas) cooperation education (2) Existing expe- (2) Awareness NGOs + local skills ƒ Local CDAs skills (2) Awareness, riences with campaigns + actors ƒ MoC ƒ conceptual skills ƒ Local community ƒ conceptual skills prevention + awareness training of local (2) Train local KGs ƒ disitricts actors early detection campaigns volunteers in to perform basic ƒ supervision + ƒ supervision + early detection health checks M+E skills ƒ Local KGs M+E skills

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Table 26: Refugee and Displaced Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers Target Contribution to Research/ Service Planning/ Resources/ Monitoring/ Non GoE Coordination/ group Key Issues policy design Statistics provision/ law program design finance supervision service cooperation enforcement providers Refugee ƒ Education + VT ƒ Parliament ƒ UNHCR ƒ MoI ƒ No programs ƒ GoE (only for ƒ none ƒ UNCHR ƒ GoE with and ƒ Health Care (ratification of ƒ NGOs ƒ MoH immunization) ƒ Churches UNHCR displaced ƒ Social + int. conventions) ƒ Churches ƒ MoE ƒ NGOs, mainly children psychological ƒ No formulated offering services SUDIA, NADIM, rehabilitation national policy to refugees EOHR, AHRLA, ƒ Recreation and legislation HMLC, Musa’din ƒ Ministerial decrees of the MoH, MoE, MoI

Table 27: Refugee and Displaced Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches Target Main services/ Data/research Legal/policy Service gaps Coverage gaps Program design/ Institutional/ Coordination/ M+E group actions gaps gaps approaches implementation cooperation mechanisms Refugee ƒ Registration ƒ Refugees who ƒ Ratified international ƒ Education ƒ Services non- ƒ No programs ƒ No agency dea- ƒ Lack on all ƒ Non-existent and cards for refu- do not apply to conventions not ƒ Health care existent except ling w. refugees levels displaced gees + asylum the UNHCR not translated into ƒ VT immunization¼ ƒ Even for those children seekers captured in nationnal policy + refugees not ƒ General access entitled access statistics legislation aware ƒ Immunization for to public to education + children ƒ Almost no ƒ Refugee children services health care ƒ Education for research on not addressed in difficult due to recognized refugee children Child Law complicated refugee children ƒ No B-status for non- procedures + recognized refugees red tape

Table 28: Refugee and Displaced Children: Priorities and Possible Actions Target Priority issues Entry points/ Proposed Approach/ Actors Capacity- Actors NGOs Capacity- Actors other group best practices actions strategy governmental building needs building needs Refugee and No action proposed since problems and service gaps are essentially policy issues + the number of refugee children in Alexandria is estimated as being very low displaced children

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Table 29: Female Children: Responsibilities of Main Governmental Actors and Service Providers Target Contribution to Research/ Service Planning/ Resources/ Monitoring/ Non GoE Coordination/ group Key Issues policy design Statistics provision/ law program design finance supervision service cooperation enforcement providers Girls ƒ Gender gap in ƒ MoH ƒ CAPMAS ƒ MoH ƒ NCE ƒ GoE ƒ MoH ƒ Wide range of ƒ Coordination: education ƒ MoE ƒ NIP ƒ MoE ƒ NCCM ƒ Wide range of ƒ MoE NGOs mainly NCCM + ƒ FGC ƒ NCCM ƒ Population ƒ MISA ƒ GALAE nternational ƒ NCCM pecialized committees on ƒ Early and forced ƒ NCW Council ƒ GALAE ƒ MoH donors ƒ NCW different issues marriage ƒ NGOs ƒ Universities and ƒ National FGM ƒ MoE ƒ Cooperation ƒ Social research Taskforce ƒ MISA discrimination institutes exists among all ƒ National Girls’ actors ƒ Violence and ƒ NCW Education Initia- sexual abuse ƒ NGOs tive Taskforce

Table 30: Female Children: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches Target Main services/ Data/research Legal/policy Service gaps Coverage gaps Program design/ Institutional/ Coordination/ M+E group actions gaps gaps approaches implementation cooperation mechanisms Girls ƒ Community ƒ Info on intra- ƒ Discrimination in ƒ Support to ƒ Scaling up of all ƒ Outreach programs ƒ Lack of ƒ Lack of ƒ Partially weak schools familial violence the personal prevent drop-out initiatives with social workers capacities of cooperation with ƒ Successful ƒ One-classroom + sexual abuse status law and ƒ Quality social + needed and health edu- social workers + community approaches not schools ƒ Data on the penal code psychological cators ill designed health educators initiatives sufficiently ƒ Literacy pro- incidence of ƒ No special guidance for ƒ Lack of partici- ƒ Lack of documented and grams for girls early + forced protection of adolescent girls patory approa- motivation + circulated ƒ Campaigns marriage under-aged girls ƒ Protection from ches + links to commitment ƒ Lack of impact against FGC against violence violence + community ƒ Lack of sufficient assessments and sex. abuse initiatives ƒ Public aware- sexual abuse resources ness campaigns

Table 31: Female Children: Priorities and Possible Actions Target Priority issues Entry points/ Proposed Approach/ Actors Capacity- Actors NGOs Capacity- Actors other group best practices actions strategy governmental building needs building needs Girls ƒ Social + psycho- ƒ New Horizon logical guidance program No special action proposed. Girls distinct needs of protection shall be integrated as a cross-cutting issue in activities targeting other groups of ƒ Change of gen- ƒ Girls’ Dreams vulnerable children der stereotypes program ƒ Protection from ƒ Ishraq program violence+abuse

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Table 32: Crosscutting issues: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches Target Key Issues Data/research Legal/policy Service gaps Coverage gaps Program design/ Institutional/ Coordination/ M+E group gaps gaps approaches implementation cooperation mechanisms Cross- ƒ Lack of sufficient ƒ Various degrees ƒ Quality gaps of ƒ Uneven geogra- ƒ Frequently ƒ Lack of ƒ In many cases ƒ Partially non- ƒ Technical skills cutting information of lack of data + almost all phic coverage conceptual resources weak on all existent ƒ Conceptual skills issues ƒ Unaddressed research services ƒ Lack of scaling weakness ƒ Lack of qualified levels: ƒ If existent often ƒ Organization +

needs ƒ Lack of ƒ Various degrees up of successful ƒ Lack of innova- staff + training ¼ among gov. weak management govern- ƒ Effectiveness circulation of of issue gaps programs tive, integrated + ƒ Strong hierar- agencies, ƒ Results often not skills mental ¼ between gov. ƒ Efficiency available info participatory chies obstruct sufficiently ƒ Cooperation + agencies agencies + approaches self-responsibi- analyzed + coordination ƒ Targeting + NGOs ƒ Most approa- lity + innovation considered skills outreach ¼ among NGOs ches top-down, ƒ Lack of ƒ General lack of ƒ Human ¼all with local ƒ Data collection + not process-and motivation + impact resources communities documentation empowerment commitment assessments skills ƒ Funding oriented ƒ M+E skills

Table 33: Crosscutting issues: Most Important Gaps of Government Approaches Target Key Issues Data/research Legal/policy Service gaps Coverage gaps Program design/ Institutional/ Coordination/ M+E group gaps gaps approaches implementation cooperation mechanisms ƒ Support by ƒ Difficulties in ƒ Sometimes ƒ Mainly pilot ƒ Lack of integra- ƒ Lack of financial ƒ Various degrees ƒ Often lack of Various degrees Cross- governmental accessing quality projects, very ted approaches + qualified hu- of weaknesses impact of: cutting agencies official statistics ƒ Effectiveness limited scaling with multiple man resources in cooperation assessments ƒ Technical skills issues ƒ Scaling up and info very limited if up of successful components ƒ Various degrees with: ƒ Results not ƒ Conceptual skills

ƒ Human resource ƒ Documentation one-shot actions experiences ƒ Lack of long- of institutional ¼ governmental always taken ƒ Management NGOs development + circulation of + interventions term strategies + weaknesses: agencies into skills ¼ other NGOs ƒ Institution- experiences process-oriented ¼ division of tasks consideration ƒ Mobilization ¼ local building approaches ¼ line of authority ƒ Local CDAs skills ¼ reporting systems communities ƒ Enhancement of ƒ Lack of coopera- often lack M+E ƒ Documentation ¼ involvement of integrated inter- tion with + em- mechanisms + reporting skills board + members vention strate- powerment of altogether ¼ human re source ƒ M+E skills gies + participa- loc. communities development ƒ Fund-raising tory approaches ¼ transparency skills

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4.2 Service Provision by NGOs and Other Actors NGOs play a prominent role in addressing certain problems and delivering services to some sub- groups of vulnerable children, particularly street children, working and handicapped children. However, they are neither able to capture all children in need nor to tackle the whole range of multiple and interrelated issues. This is largely due to lack of sufficient human and financial resources. Most programs depend to a large extent on funding by foreign donors, either directly or indirectly via national NGOs or other agencies. Only centers for orphans and homeless children are mainly funded by donations and funding contributions of the MISA. Donor-funded projects are often completely separated from other activities of the NGO. Special staff is hired for the project and often leaves after the project ends. In two of the NGOs visited in Alexandria, the special project staff was not at all aware of the general structure, membership and areas of action of the NGO and vice versa.

Donor-funded projects tend to have relatively short project cycles and often impose a strict focus of interventions. Each donor tends to choose its own geographic pilot area and type of action. Projects are thus often isolated instead of complementary which leaves many possibilities for synergy effects unused. Cooperation among NGOs does exist within certain limits. Different approaches, the overwhelming day-to-day work and competition for donor funds are the main factors which obstruct more intensive cooperation. Competition also negatively affects transparency, exchange of experience and coordination. In addition, many experiences are not well documented and not sufficiently circulated.

Short project cycles impede bottom-up, process oriented approaches which focus on capacity- building and empowerment of local communities. In many areas, the most active community members are only loosely organized around kindergartens and literacy classes, local service institutions, informal youth and women’s groups as well as groups of young professionals. It takes time to mobilize them, promote organizational processes and build up capacities. Nevertheless, experiences show that local communities have lots of potentials to mobilize human and material resources which remain often untapped. Without being rooted in local communities most projects can only be effective to a limited extent and are at risk to collapse after phasing out.

The level of technical, planning, targeting, implementation and monitoring capacities differs widely among various NGOs. A number of NGOs have an important capacity-building function by providing training for staff of other NGOs or governmental agencies. There are, however, only limited attempts to involve community leaders in capacity-building measures and training so that experiences are immediately passed on and eventually create a snow-ball effect. There are some interesting exceptions: C.B.R. programs often involve persons with disabilities on conceptual and implementation levels as well as in capacity-building measures and programs targeting street children rely increasingly on peer educators.

Some NGOs have an effective institutional and management structure, others do not even have a clear division of tasks. Experiences, resources and staffing vary, too, as well as internal participation, general approaches and access to government support. The latter depends heavily on personal or political clouts of board members as well as on the negotiation skills of the executive staff. Transparency, accountability to the board and the general assembly and the degree to which an NGO is rooted in its community differ also considerably. NGOs founded by academics and professionals tend to have a limited membership and an effective organizational structure. The board tends to take an active role in the NGO’s development. Junior staff is, however, often not familiar with the broader developmental objectives of the organization and there is often a lack of efforts to broaden the conceptual understanding of lower level executive staff and to encourage active participation. Older, community-based NGOs have usually a broad membership base and well-connected board members. However, many lack an effective executive and management structure and internal transparency. Sometimes, the NGO represents

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for some of the board members primarily an opportunity to get access to important connections. Developmental ambitions are limited and often welfare-oriented. The majority of local CDAs are dominated by male traditional leaders, women and youth are frequently excluded from decision- making. The more dynamic CDAs with younger members and female activists show often considerable motivation but usually need intensive institution-building support in addition to technical and management skills.

5. Outline of a Capacity-building Program

5.1 Objectives It should be mentioned that governmental agencies charged with the development of programs and strategies such as the NCCM are aware of the problems related to current approaches and implementation of national strategies at the local level. The objectives and strategies proposed in this study are fully in line with their recommendations.

The previous sections have highlighted some important needs of vulnerable children which are not addressed because of a lack of expertise, qualified staff and specialized skills. The results of the study show also that many interventions are not effective enough due to inappropriate approaches and lack of cooperation. It is therefore proposed to include two sets of objectives in the capacity-building program, i.e. issue-related objectives as well as process-oriented objectives, most prominently the following:

(1) issue-related objectives:

ƒ sensitize municipal actors for the problems and needs of vulnerable children ƒ enable municipal actors, NGOs and local communities to fill crucial gaps in service delivery to vulnerable children ƒ increase outreach, effectiveness and management of existing programs

(2) process-oriented objectives

ƒ encourage integrated approaches and complementary multi-component interventions ƒ establish mechanisms of coordination and cooperation which can be adopted as standard procedures ƒ promote the inclusion and active participation of target groups in planning, implementation and M+E

5.2 Strategies and Approach The promotion of innovative approaches to service provisions needs also innovative instruments and non-traditional approaches to capacity-building. The capacity-building program should be conceptualized as a training and action program which creates a dynamic cycle of training, action and reflection. It should be based on the following principles:

(1) The starting point should always be existing efforts and experiences (2) Instead of trying to address all capacity-building needs at once, pilot measures should be selected and quality should prevail over quantity. Training inputs should cluster around selected issues to allow for in-depth capacity-building (3) Criteria for the selection of issues should be based on the urgency and prevalence of needs as well as on chances to achieve process-oriented objectives and to create models which could later become standard procedures

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(4) Participants should be involved from the beginning in the final conceptualization of the capacity-building program as well as in the design of individual training inputs (5) Training inputs should be directly linked to practice, either to existing activities or to activities which are designed and tested as part of the capacity-building program (6) In order to allow for pilot initiatives and testing of new approaches, a fund should be attached to the capacity-building program. Joint planning and decision-making for the use of the fund as well as monitoring of implementation and impacts of funded measures are envisaged to be an integral component of capacity-building (7) The training approach should be flexible with detailed designs of training inputs being developed gradually. The detailed design of training inputs should be considered itself a capacity-building measure (8) Training instruments should include structured training inputs, written training material, on- the-job training and guidance during pilot phases of implementation (9) Trainers should have profound technical skills as well as experiences with flexible, process- oriented approaches (10) Training should include the exposure to successful experiences and best practices to enhance conceptual skills and stimulate innovative thinking (11) The training program should also include incentive mechanisms to increase motivation and active participation. Incentives need not necessarily take the form of financial rewards but have to demonstrate appreciation

5.3 Core Issues and Entry Points The most crucial issues identified relate to working children, street children and children with disabilities. Orphans and abandoned children share some problems with street children and children with disabilities, namely problems related to education and skills, institutionalization, stigmatization, social isolation and vulnerability to maltreatment and abuse. The number of refugee children is assumed to be very low in Alexandria. Needs of female and poor children are proposed to be addressed as cross-cutting issues since they are represented in all other sub- groups.

Entry points can be identified on three levels:

(1) Geographic entry points: Selecting a geographic area as a pilot area has several advantages. In view of the complex and multi-dimensional nature of problems and needs of vulnerable children, a geographic approach is particularly suitable for integrated interventions with several components. It facilitates the development and implementation of a comprehensive strategy and makes it easier to achieve synergy effects.

A UNICEF supported project in Alexandria West represents, for example, an interesting potential entry point. The project is currently being implemented in cooperation with three NGOs in the areas Karmuz, El Haggari and Maawa El Sayedeen. The interesting elements of the program are the fact that the district chief takes an active role and that three NGOs work together, each being in charge of a different component as part of a common strategy. The program targets children at risk, mainly working children. One NGO provides education, skills training and recreational activities, another runs a micro credit project for mothers of working children to prevent further drop-outs and the third is in charge of coordinating efforts, mobilizing the support of district officials for individual cases and ensuring that the needs of children at risk are incorporated in district planning activities.

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Other possible entry points are areas in which C.B.R. programs are implemented. Although these programs are only targeting the handicapped, they rely intensively on the mobilization of all local actors and resources. These networks and the already existing sensitization and community mobilization could be used for other activities, too.

(2) Issue-related existing programs and best practices as entry points: The advantages of issue-related entry points are that they are particularly suitable to build up in-depth capacities within specific departments and provide a framework for the accumulation of experiences and future scaling up.

Programs trying to improve school performance and reduce drop-out rates are, for example, an issue-related entry point. In Alexandria, an interesting initiative has been started recently: the establishment of drop-out centers by the department of education. Currently, four such centers are available in four of the six districts of Alexandria and preparations are underway to cover the other districts, too. The program is envisaged to work in cooperation with teachers, parents and local communities to detect children at risk to drop out and intervene with support measures. The staff seems to be quite motivated, however, lacks the necessary technical, conceptual and mobilization skills.

Another example is a program trying to address the widely neglected, however, crucial issue of neglect, violence and abuse. The Bright Tomorrow Association has developed a methodology to clarify conceptions of neglect and violence and to train service providers to detect respective incidences and intervene with protection and support. Currently, the methodology has been designed for the distinct needs of children with disabilities. It could, however, easily be adapted to other target groups and used on a wide scale to train educators, supervisors and community activists.

(3) Entry points related to best practices: This entry point has not only the advantage that successful experiences can be scaled up but also that successful approaches can be adapted and adopted for other issues, too.

One of the most successful approaches are those applied in C.B.R. projects. As already mentioned above, the basic principle of C.B.R. is the formation of alliances between district departments, local service institutions, beneficiaries and their families as well as CDAs and community initiatives. This approach would be particularly useful if applied in programs aiming at reducing child labor and improving the working and living conditions of working children. Child labor is related to a variety of roots and problems which can only be tackled through the cooperation of multiple actors and integrated approaches. The experience collected in C.B.R. projects can be transferred to programs tackling child labor. Improving working conditions and industrial safety and health needs the cooperation of entrepreneurs, families and the wider community. Only the latter can, for instance, help to identify entrepreneurs who are willing to adopt a pioneer role to demonstrate mutual benefits of cooperation which could eventually convince other entrepreneurs to reduce, for example, the number of working hours to free up time for children’s education, skills development and recreation.

There are, however, also simpler examples of best practices which could be applied as standard measures. Some NGOs have managed to enter into agreements with governmental service providers such as hospitals, youth and cultural centers and the department of social affairs to issue certified carnets entitling vulnerable children to public services. Although not legally covered, this is obviously possible on a pilot basis. Access to health and recreational services is, for example, a crucial issue for street children and working children.

The final decision on the components of the capacity-building program should use a combination of all three approaches to identify entry points.

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5.4 Proposed Projects Since it has been found that current strategies and approaches are largely inadequate to ensure the effectiveness of service delivery, the objectives of the capacity-building program should be output-oriented as well as process-oriented, i.e. the program should increase conceptual, technical and management skills but should also promote participatory approaches and close cooperation of different actors who link their individual interventions within a common strategic framework. Capacity-building itself should be conceptualized as a participatory process that increases the sense of joint responsibility and provides learning experiences through a combination of structured training inputs, guided action and participatory assessment of impacts.

Four major projects are proposed, each consisting of different components involving several actors:

(1) A Child Protection Information and Training Center The center is envisaged to become a permanent mechanism to ensure sustainability, continued human resource development, coordination, technical backstopping and financial support both for governmental and non-governmental service providers. It is proposed to be linked to the information center in the governorate and to be jointly managed by representatives of the governorate and NGOs. The center shall consist of four units, i.e. a secretariat responsible for coordination and mainstreaming, an information unit to close information gaps and ensure easy access to available data, a human resource development unit to offer technical assistance and facilitate access to quality training and a child protection initiative fund which is conceptualized as a flexible funding mechanism to finance or co-finance innovative projects which are envisaged to be developed in a permanent process. The fund is also an instrument to enhance joint responsibility for resource management. The different components of the other three proposed projects shall be financed out of this fund.

(2) A Project for the Protection of the Working Child The project consists of four components that aim at improving the performance of labor inspectors, establishing effective programs within the recently founded drop-out centers, improving the working and living conditions of working children and reducing the incidence of child labor through support to poor families as well as MSMEs that cannot survive without employing children. The project is envisaged to create synergy effects and a model for multi- component interventions that involve different actors who work together at different levels towards a common goal.

(3) Social Protection and Inclusion Initiative The project targets mainly street children, orphans and abandoned children and tries to address service gaps such as protection against violence and abuse as well as social exclusion and exclusion from crucial public services. An important element of the project is a research component with a focus on qualitative study methodologies to close important information gaps and also to provide profound expertise in a specific and important area of capacity-building.

(4) Well-child Checkup Initiative The project focuses on prevention as well as early detection and rehabilitation of disabilities all of which are so far neglected in government approaches. The core elements of the project rely on the involvement of local kindergartens and CDAs in both early detection and awareness-raising activities. The project is thus envisaged to provide a model of intensive cooperation with local communities. It contains also a baseline study and an impact assessment to introduce important tools for impact-oriented planning and implementation which are envisaged to be adopted as standard mechanisms.

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The following project sheets elaborate the objectives, components and expected results of each project. Attached is also a budget proposal and a workplan. The budget does not specify contributions of different partners. It is assumed that agreements on contributions need further discussions and negotiations between AUDI, Alexandria governorate and potential other partners.

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PROJECT 1

THEMATIC CLUSTER Overall Coordination, Information and Human Resource Development PROJECT NAME Child Protection Information and Training Center RATIONALE Lack of data and research, difficult access to information, personalized accumulation of experiences, isolated efforts and lack of qualification obstruct effectiveness + efficiency OBJECTIVES Establish sustainable mechanisms to ensure availability and easy circulation of information, institutionalized accumulation and exchange of experiences, multi-actor cooperation and human resource development OUTLINE + Location: governorate information and decision-support center STRATEGY Management: committee with representatives of relevant directorates and NGOs working with vulnerable children, headed by the governor Capacity-building inputs: ƒ Conceptualization and set up ƒ ToT for certain training and research services to be provided directly by the center + set up of database of specialized trainers and researchers who can be contracted through outsourcing ƒ Fund-raising to access resources for research and training KEY (1) Secretariat to COMPONENTS ƒ coordinate among different actors and to ƒ mainstream issues related to vulnerable children in governorate departments to mobilize support and to incorporate children’s needs in physical and socio- economic development plans (2) Information unit (research and documentation) ƒ data collection + research ƒ documentation of experiences, including results of evaluations ƒ tools and instruments ƒ information on funding possibilities ƒ information on where to find specific expertise (3) Human resource development unit to provide training + TA in the following areas: ƒ Conceptualization and program/project design ¼ understanding + awareness ¼ planning tools (incl. strategic planning + action planning) ƒ Monitoring and supervision ¼ understanding of needs and tools of supervision ¼ instruments of quantitative+ qualitative monitoring (incl. impact assessments) ƒ Law enforcement/implementation ¼ understanding + awareness of legislation and procedures ¼ efficient organization and management, incl. division of tasks, clear lines of authority and transparent competencies ¼ practical implementation tools ƒ Service delivery ¼ targeting, outreach, identification of gaps ¼ understanding and attitude towards children ¼ technical skills ¼ procedural skills (problem-solving, responding to potentials) ƒ Coordination + cooperation ¼ mobilization skills ¼ negotiation skills ¼ organization skills (4) Child Protection Initiative Fund ƒ Purpose: Funding of projects proposed by the participants of the capacity-building program ƒ Objectives: stimulation of creative thinking, increase sense of joint responsibility, flexible instrument to respond quickly to upcoming ideas and necessities ƒ Decision-making: by committee including representatives of all partners in the capacity- building program ƒ Management: secretariat under (1)

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EXPECTED (1) Closure of information gaps, (2) quick identification of problems and issues, (3) RESULTS better quality services through human resource development, (4) improved effectiveness + synergy effects through coordination of efforts PARTNERS Governorate, relevant directorates, NGOs working with vulnerable children PROJECT PERIOD 3 years ESTIMATED US$ 853,414.- TOTAL COST

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PROJECT 2

THEMATIC CLUSTER Child Labor, also: poor children, girl child PROJECT NAME Protection of the Working Child RATIONALE Present instruments of law enforcement proved to be largely ineffective. The multi- dimensional and complex nature of child labor requires innovative approaches with interventions at different levels and joint efforts of multiple actors OBJECTIVES (1) Improvement of working and living conditions of child workers, (2) reduction of school drop-out rates, (3) development of human capacities of working children, (4) demonstration of potentials for increased effectiveness and synergy effects OUTLINE + Select a pilot area, develop a strategic framework with common objectives, design and STRATEGY implement complementary interventions involving different actors at governorate, district and community level and in cooperation with specialized NGOs. Include repre- sentatives of beneficiary groups in the whole project cycle, starting from design phase KEY (1) Improve the performance of labor inspectors by COMPONENTS ƒ improving the understanding of the roots and dimensions of problems related to child labor as well as problems, needs and potentials of MSMEs ƒ provision of training to enhance supervisory role, particularly to strictly prohibit hazardous child labor ƒ provision of training to strengthening advisory role (2) Build up the capacities of staff in drop-out centers, teachers and CDA members in the following areas ƒ early detection of children at risk of dropping out ƒ analysis of causes in individual cases and referral to support services ƒ awareness-raising campaigns for parents and communities (3) Improve working and living conditions of working children through interventions in the following areas ƒ improvement of industrial safety (incl. first aid) ƒ access to subsidized health care ƒ reduction of working hours + increase of rest periods ƒ remedial education and skills development ƒ recreational activities (4) Support families of working children and MSMEs with the following actions ƒ support families to access services such as loan programs, pension schemes, literacy classes etc. ƒ facilitate access to credit, business support services, legal documents and infrastructure services for MSMEs. ƒ Access to any support and services for MSMEs shall be conditional on the compliance with a set of conditions - to be defined – regarding type of work of children, working hours, rest periods and industrial safety and health

EXPECTED (1) Improved performance of labor inspectors, (2) reduced incidence of child labor, RESULTS (3) improved health and human capital of working children, (4) established model for complementary interventions and coordinated action PARTNERS Governor, district chief, directorate of manpower (division for child labor, child labor welfare unit, directorate of education (drop-out centers), directorate of social affairs, NGOs, CDAs, PTAs, local service institutions (schools, youth and cultural centers), local SMEs, Boy and Girl Scouts Movements, NN PROJECT PERIOD 3 years

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PROJECT 3 THEMATIC CLUSTER Street children, orphans and abandoned children, partially also: other sub-groups

PROJECT NAME Social Protection and Inclusion Initiative

RATIONALE Certain issues, such as health problems, discrimination and violence, are known but so far not or not sufficiently addressed. The efforts of NGOs can be only enhanced if supported by governmental agencies. However, there is still a great gap in information concerning the background, movements and livelihood of Alexandria’s street children, as well as problems and perceptions of orphans and abandoned children. This and the alienation of street children (also abandoned children in institutions) impede the design of effective measures for re-integration and social inclusion. Reportedly, the number of children who escape from institutions and become engaged in street life is increasing

OBJECTIVE (1) Identification of suitable measures to support, intensify and broaden efforts of NGOs, (2) reduction of health and problems and psychological disorders, (3) protection against maltreatment and abuse (4) creation of channel for re-integration and social inclusion

OUTLINE + Form partnerships between municipal directorates, service institutions, NGOs, community actors STRATEGY and beneficiaries to develop mechanisms of protection and social inclusion. Include representatives of beneficiary groups in the design of all actions KEY COMPONENTS (1) Conduct baseline study on the situation of street children and children in residential care institutions with a focus on qualitative study methodologies, including an extensive series of listening interviews and site visits with street children, peer educators, experts in the field as well as children in institutions (2) Support efforts of NGOs and facilitate access to public services, e.g. ƒ make arrangements and issue carnets (by NGOs) certified by municipal directorates, hospitals etc. that entitle to subsidized health care, free access to youth and cultural centers and other services to be agreed upon, including services from private actors and communities ƒ train service providers to increase understanding and improve attitude towards street children ƒ issue carnets for staff from NGOs who work as street educators ƒ link with drop-out centers for preventive and re-integrative measures ƒ other support measures to be identified (3) Protection from violence and abuse ƒ increase awareness about concept, causes and consequences ƒ train educators, social workers, supervisors of institutions, health personnel and community actors how to detect violence and abuse, intervene and in serious cases refer to specialists ƒ establish monitoring and complaint mechanism (4) Promote social inclusion initiatives ƒ increase awareness in local communities and service institutions about living conditions, problems and needs of children in need of protection ƒ encourage initiatives to include street children, orphans and abandoned children and other sub-groups in community initiatives in a non-exclusive, non-discriminatory, empowerment-oriented way (no activities only for sub-groups)

EXPECTED (1) detailed situational analysis with recommendations for strategy and actions, (2) RESULTS increased access to public and community services, (3) reduced incidence of maltreatment and abuse, (4)inclusive recreational and other activities

PARTNERS Directorates of social affairs, health, youth and culture, districts, police departments, judiciary, residential care institutions, local communities, beneficiaries, Boy and Girls Scouts Movement, Bright Tomorrow NGO, NN

PROJECT PERIOD 3 years

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PROJECT 4

THEMATIC CLUSTER Handicapped children, poor children

PROJECT NAME Well-Child Checkup Initiative

RATIONALE Prevention and early detection of disability risks and other health problems are underrepresented in existing services and in many areas practically non-existing. Many preventive measures can be performed with by laypersons

OBJECTIVE Increase coverage and outreach of preventive and early detection measures to reduce incidence of disabilities and other health problems

OUTLINE + Train community service providers to perform regular well-child checkups and increase STRATEGY awareness. Their activities shall not substitute but complement regular checkups by professional physicians KEY COMPONENTS (1) Conduct a baseline study at the beginning of the project about incidence and types of disabilities, time of detection and rehabilitation measures, education and social activities of children with disabilities, incidence of intra-familial marriages, hygiene and nutrition practices, domestic accidents, physical punishment, et al. (2) Well-child checkup units in local KGs and CDAs ƒ give advice on nutrition and hygiene ƒ inform about and ensure proper vaccination ƒ check on the weight and growth of children ƒ follow up on the development of children’s moving and language skills, teeth, reflexes and sense of balance ƒ detect eye and hearing defects ƒ advise parents about accident prevention measures ƒ educate parents about the dangers related to physical punishment ƒ increase the general health awareness of parents Checkups to be performed quarterly for children from 0-2 years and bi-annually from 3-6 years. The venues have to be equipped with scales, height charts, reflex hammers, sphygmomanometers, stethoscopes and a eye chart

Those who implement the checkups cooperate with local health centers. They maintain a registration system and refer irregularities in children’s development to be checked by professional physicians (3) Awareness-campaign to educate community members about inherited disabilities, detection of children at risk to develop disabilities and possibilities of early intervention, general risk factors which can damage children’s physical and emotional development incl. violence

(4) Conduct an assessment to measure the impact of the project and develop recommendations for improvement and expansion

EXPECTED (1) reduced incidence of intra-familiar marriages, (2) reduced incidence of disabilities, (3) RESULTS improved nutrition and health care for children, (4) decrease in physical punishment

PARTNERS Directorate of health, NGOs, CDAs, local kindergartens, literacy teachers, parents

PROJECT PERIOD 3 years

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6. Work Plan URBAN VULNERABLE CHILD PROTECTION INITIATIVE A CHILD PROTECTION INFORMATION AND TRAINING CENTER PROJECT PROPOSED WORKPLAN

DESCRIPTION BY YEARLY QUARTER YEAR1 YEAR2 YEAR3 123456789101112 TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT DEVELOPMENT Strategic planning of VCPI project Develop operation manual (TOR, reporting…) Establish Project Management Unit (PMU) Formulation yearly workplan TRAINING TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT Carry out training need assessmen TS staff Develop/prepare training plan and material Facilitation Training Information system training Need identification, monitoring raining Vulnerable Childen advocacy training Documentation, publication training TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT OPERATION Operational coordination committee (operational managers) X X X X X X X X X X X X High level coordination committee (governor+executives) X X X Reporting X X X X X X X X X X X X Mid Term Review X Final Evaluation X ADVOCACY/AWARENESS Baseline study Preparation advocacy/awareness material Planning awareness events Training relevant staff and stakeholders Implementation national VCP forum X Implementation governorate VCP Forum X X X Implementation district VCP workshops Study tour Yearly Policy Forum X X X CAPACITY BUILDING SUBGRANT PROGRAM Preparation proposal subgrant year one Implementation subgrant proposal year one Monitoring, documentation subgrant proposal year one Preparation proposal subgrant year two Implementation subgrant proposal year two Monitoring, documentation subgrant proposal year two Preparation proposal subgrant year three Implementation subgrant proposal year three Monitoring, documentation subgrant proposal year three

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7. Budget URBAN VULNERABLE CHILD PROTECTION INITIATIVE - CHILD PROTECTION INFORMATION AND TRAINING CENTER PROJECT ESTIMATED BUDGET, US$ Page 1 Quantity Cost, US$

DESCRIPTION Unit Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Unit pr. Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Sub total AUDI Others (??) VULNERABLE CHILD PROTECTION FUND - CAPACITY BUILDING SUBGRANTS Child labor grant 1113 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 60,000 Street children grant1113 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 60,000 Handicapped children grant 1113 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 60,000 Orphans grant 1113 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 90,000 Gender mainstreaming grant 1113 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 60,000 Structural poverty reduction grant 1113 20,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 60,000 SUBGRANTS Sub-total 130,000 130,000 130,000 390,000 390,000 TRAINING b Unit Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Unit pr. Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Sub total AUDI Others (??) Technical Secretariat(seconded staff, committee mem facilitation days3115 150 450 150 150 750 Information system days 20 5 5 30 150 3,000 750 750 4,500 Need identifiaction, monitoring days 5 3 3 11 150 750 450 450 1,650 Vulnerable Childen advocacy days 15 5 5 25 150 2,250 750 750 3,750 Documentation, publication days 5 5 150 - 750 - 750 TS Sub-Total 6,450 2,850 2,100 11,400 11,400 NETWORKING/ADVOCACY Unit Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Unit pr. Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Sub total AUDI Others (??) National level Policy Forum, days 1 1 2,000 - 2,000 - 2,000 Special/Media Events days1113 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 3,000 Governorate level Yearly Forum days1113 500 500 500 500 1,500 District seminars days20202060150 3,000 3,000 3,000 9,000 International level Arab study tour (10 persons) tour*1 week days 70 70 200 - 14,000 - 14,000 NETWORKING Sub-total 4,500 20,500 4,500 29,500 29,500 RESEARCH (consultant days) Unit Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Unit pr. Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Sub total AUDI Others (??) Baseline study days 45 45 250 11,250 - - 11,250 Mid term review days 15 15 250 - 3,750 - 3,750 Final evaluation days 21 21 350 - - 7,350 7,350 RESEARCH Sub-total 11,250 3,750 7,350 22,350 22,350 TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT/PMUS Techncial Secretariat(core local staff) Unit Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Unit pr. Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Sub total AUDI Others (??) Management Director pm 10 12 12 34 300 3,000 3,600 3,600 10,200 Administrative assistant pm 10 12 12 34 150 1,500 1,800 1,800 5,100 Accountant pm 1 12 12 25 120 120 1,440 1,440 3,000 Training Officer pm 9 12 12 33 250 2,250 3,000 3,000 8,250 MIS Officer pm10121234300 3,000 3,600 3,600 10,200 Research/Advocacy Officer pm 9 12 12 33 250 2,250 3,000 3,000 8,250 Office maintenance month 12 12 12 36 100 1,200 1,200 1,200 3,600 Communication month 12 12 12 36 340 4,080 4,080 4,080 12,240 Stationery, supply month 12 12 12 36 50 600 600 600 1,800 Coordination committees s day 4 4 4 12 250 1,000 1,000 1,000 3,000 OperationalHigh level coordination coordination committee committee (governor+executives)day1113 (operational manager 500 500 500 500 1,500 Techncial Secretariat(technical assistance) Capacity Building expert (TA team leader) pm 12 10 8 30 4,500 54,000 45,000 36,000 135,000 Information/Adocacy expert pm 10 8 6 24 4,500 45,000 36,000 27,000 108,000 Short term experts pm2114 6,000 12,000 6,000 6,000 24,000 Translator pm 12 12 12 36 1,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 36,000 TS Sub-Total 142,500 122,820 104,820 370,140 370,140

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URBAN VULNERABLE CHILD PROTECTION INITIATIVE - CHILD PROTECTION INFORMATION AND TRAINING CENTER PROJECT ESTIMATED BUDGET, US$ Page 2

Equipment Technical Secretaria/PMU Unit Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Unit pr. Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Total Sub total AUDI Others Furniture Air condition unit 4 4 600 2,400 - - 2,400 Office chairs unit 10 10 48 484 - - 484 Meeting chairs/visitors chairs unit 30 30 11 339 - - 339 Executive Desk unit 3 3 129 387 - - 387 Standard Desk unit 8 8 113 903 - - 903 Computer tables, side tables unit 9 9 32 290 - - 290 Bookshelves unit 9 9 56 508 - - 508 Tables unit 1 1 97 97 - - 97 Filing cabinets unit 9 9 113 1,016 - - 1,016 Informatics - Server unit 1 1 1,500 1,500 - - 1,500 UPS unit 1 1 200 200 - - 200 Cabling, network installation unit 1 1 600 600 - - 600 Workstations unit 9 9 500 4,500 - - 4,500 Local printers unit 5 5 300 1,500 - - 1,500 Photo copier unit 1 1 2,000 2,000 - - 2,000 Telephone central unit 1 1 1,500 1,500 - - 1,500 Fax machine unit 1 1 400 400 - - 400 Datashow unit 1 1 3,000 3,000 - - 3,000 Flip Chart Unit 3 3 81 243 - - 243 MS Windows 2003 Server user 1 1 410 410 - - 410 MS Windows 2003 Server Client Access Licenses License 9 9 20 180 - - 180 MS ISA (Firewall) package 1 1 325 325 - - 325 MS Windows XP Professional (9 users) user 9 9 153 1,377 - - 1,377 MS Office 2003 Standard (9 users) user 9 9 410 3,690 - - 3,690 ADSL Interenet Line Subscription/year 1113 750 750 450 450 1,650 Antivirus Package 9 9 45 405 405 E-mail, Internet account subscription/year1113 40 40 40 40 120 Sub-Total 29,044 490 490 30,024 30,024

GRAND TOTAL, US$ 323,744 280,410 249,260 853,414 853,414

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ANNEXES

Annex 1: NGOs working with vulnerable children in Alexandria Annex 2: Literature Annex 3: List of Interviews

Annex 1: NGOs working with Vulnerable Children in Alexandria (non-comprehensive, non-representative selection)

Name of NGO Address Year of Target Groups + Main Activities Remarks Establishment Gama’iya al-kashafa al- Tel.: 03-4800215 n.a. ƒ Working children Project funded by UNICEF, bahariya Tel. Hassan El Sury - Recreational + cultural activities (Sundays) cooperation with 2 other NGOs (Maritime Scout Association) (home) 03-3925415 Gama’iyat Masgid Sidi 2, Abdallah El Insari Str. 1974 ƒ Families of working children 3 projects in different areas, 1 Gaber Alexandria – Sidi Gaber - Micro credit to mothers of working children funded by UNICEF, 1 funded by Tel.: 03-5406514 - (group lending on condition that children go back SFD, 1 funded with own (Sidi Gaber Mosque resources Association) 5466746 to or remain in school), skills training, legal 5410061 support, awareness, literacy, identity cards coordination with the district of Alex. West, the Higher Institute Fax: 03-5227942 of Public Health + 2 other NGOs Mobile Mme. Ferdous: funded by UNICEF 012-4007517 Gama’iyat al-mar’a al- Tel.: 03-5046146 n.a. ƒ Mothers of working children mo’ila - Micro credit, skills training, legal support, (Association for Working awareness Mothers) Gama’iyat al-hurriya li Str. 4 in front of Burg El 1966 ƒ Working children + their families, workshops, “Stop Child Labor Project” tanmiyet al-mugtama’ wal- Arab Hospital general public ¼ special project within the bi’a Alexandria - Smoha - Public awareness campaigns + advocacy to NGO, funded by USAID through (El Hurriya Association for Tel.: 03-3287698 implement Child Law the NGO support center. El Environment and Community Fax: 03-3287697 ƒ Orphans + homeless children Hurriya Ass. Is the coordinator of Development) a network of 11 NGOs Mobile Dr. Ezz - Shelter + care participating in the program (director): 010-5623038 e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Gama’iyat al-iskanderiya li- Contacts via Dr. Ezz n.a. ƒ Orphans + homeless children Children are referred to the ri’ayat al-atfal Tel.: 010-5623038 - 2 accommodation centers (boys + girls), care centers by the police (Alexandria Association for + skills training Close cooperation with social Child Care) defense department of MISA

24, Saad Zaghloul Str. 1967 ƒ Street children ƒ Established network among CARITAS Alexandria - Ramleh - Drop-in center, transit shelter center, mobile NGOs in Alex, Cairo + Tanta Tel.: 03-4806306 / -07 support teams, peer counselors to follow up on children moving among the 3 cities Fax: 03-4877332 - Family rehabilitation + community outreach ƒ Coop. with MISA to obtain Mobile Youssef Wahba: - Health care, training, counseling, educational, carnets for street workers 012-4785418 cultural + recreational activities ƒ Coop. with MoH to have e-mail: - Public awareness, liaison with law street children treated in state [email protected] enforcement agencies hospitals SETI Center / CARITAS 10, Mohamed Talaat 1967 ƒ Children with disabilities and their families Long and profound experience No’man Str. off El - Support + training to establish C.B.R schemes with community-based Ghurba El Tugariya Str. in local communities rehabilitation (C.B.R) + Alexandria - Ramleh cooperation with local ƒ Training + counseling for families with disabled communities Tel.: 03-5435378 children Fax: 03-5424859

Al-gama’iya al-masriya al- 11, Zaki Badawy Str. 1987 ƒ Street children Funds from different ‘ama li-himayat al-atfal bil- Stanley - Alexandria - Emergency centers organizations, e.g. NGO support iskanderiya Tel. + Fax: 03-5455336 center (USAID funded) + private ƒ Children with disabilities sector (Save the Children (Amal Talaat, Hussein Galal) - Rehabilitation, counseling Alexandria) e-mail: [email protected] - Food, cultural + educational activities (Not branch of the international www.savethechildren.org.eg ƒ Orphans + homeless children NGO Save the Children) - Advocacy, public awareness ƒ Training + Support to NGOs working with children’s rights Gama’iyat al-saha al- 03-5745015 n.a. ƒ Children with disabilities nafsiya al-wiqa’iya lil-tifl Mob. Dr. Amira Seif El Din: - Prevention, rehabilitation (Association for Children’s 012-2158936 Preventive Mental Health) Gama’iyat shumua’ li Contacts via Areg Hegazy n.a. ƒ Children with disabilities Funds from SPIP project (MISA, ri’ayat al-huquq al- Tel.: 3387603 / -4 - TV programs for disabled sponsored by WB) insaniya lil-mu’awaqin - Disabled write in newspapers (coop. w. (Shumua’ Association for the journalists) Rights of the Disabled) - Brail page for newspapers once a week

Gama’iyat al-ta’hil al- Hussein Ashour (home) n.a. ƒ Children with disabilities Formed by community members murtakz ‘ala al-mugtama 03-5070894 - Community-based rehabilitation (C.B.R.) (mainly family of children with activities disabilities) with support of Save (Association for Community- the Children U.K. based Rehabilitation)’ Gama’iyat al-ghad al- 10, Wbdel Qader El Mazni 6/2003 ƒ Autistic children Established by young, medical mushriq li-himayat al-atfal Str. – off Tariq El Hurriya - Rehabilitation + counseling professionals, branch of Int. Society Alexandria - Ibrahimiya for the Protection of Children Against (Bright Tomorrow ƒ Children with special needs who have been Abuse Association for the Tel.: 03-5931813 victims of violence + abuse or are at risk of Protection of Children) Fax: 03-3187139 being abused Funding by the SPIP in the Tareq Omar Mobiles: - Developed training methodology to identify + MISA (sponsored by the WB) 012-3928152 prevent physical + sexual abuse Methodology to identify and 012-2404296 prevent abuse could easily be www.espcan.org adapted and extended to other target groups that are vulnerable to violence + abuse

Annex 2: Literature

Abdel-Naby et. Al., Children Exposed to Delinquency in Egypt, 1996

Abdel–Tawab, Nahla, Hegazi, S., Critical analysis of interventions against FGC in Egypt: Frontiers in Reproductive Health, Final Report. Population Council, Washington DC, June 2000

Arab Council for Childhood and Development, Egypt’s Situational Analysis on Street Children, January 2004, paper presented at the North Africa and Middle East Regional Civil Society Forum on Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Street Children, Cairo, 3-6 March, 2004

Arab Council for Childhood and Development, The Situation of the Arab Child (in Arabic), Annual Statistical Report 2002

Assaad, R. et al., The Effects of Child Work on School Enrolment in Egypt, Cairo 2001

Assaad, R. and Rouchdy, M. Poverty and Poverty Alleviation Strategies in Egypt, the Ford Foundation, Cairo, January 1998

Bibars, I., Street Children in Egypt: From the Home to the Street to Inappropriate Corrective Institutions, published in Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 1998

Handoussa, H., Seminar on Poverty – Egypt’s Case, UNDP Seminar No. 2, 16 May 1999, Cairo (unpublished)

Assaad, R., and Rouchdy, M., Poverty and Poverty Alleviation Strategies in Egypt, Cairo Papers in Social Science, Vol. 22 (1), Cairo 1999

El Baradei, M., Egyptian Children’s Affordability to Education, UNICEF, Cairo 1995

The Cabinet, National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, National Strategy for: “Protection and Rehabilitation of Street Children in Egypt”, 2003

The Cabinet, National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, Declaration for the Second Decade for the Protection and Welfare of the Egyptian Child (2000-2010), 15 February, 2000

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Center for the Rights of Egyptian Children, The Situation of Juvenile Delinquents in Egypt, 2003 (in Arabic), report published at www.egyptcrc.org/dra/03/dra2.htm, downloaded on 25/3/2004

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Datt, G., Jolliffe, D. and Sharma, M., A Profile of Poverty in Egypt: 1997, International Food Policy Research Institute, Cairo 1997

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El Ehwany, N., El Laithy, H., Poverty, Employment and Policy-Making in Egypt, ILO area office Cairo, October 2001

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Governorate of Cairo, General Organization for Physical Planning, German Agency for Technical Cooperation, Guide Plan Manshiet Nasser, Volume 1, Existing Situation, June 2001

Harrell-Bond, B. et. al., Refugee Children in Cairo: an Invisible ‘at Risk’ Group in the City, AUC Press, Cairo 2001

Human Rights Watch, Charged with Being Children: Egyptian Police Abuse of Children in Need of Protection, Vol. 15, No. 1 (E) – New York, February 2003

El Hurriya Association, Project for the Elimination of Child Labor in Alexandria, Field Survey: Information, Opinions and Conditions of Child Labor in Alexandria, 2003 itihad hai’at al-fi’at al-khassa wa al-ma’niya, no title, 1997

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Lloyd, Cynthia B., et. al., Determinants of Educational Attainment Among Adolescents in Egypt: Does School Quality Make a Difference?, Policy Research Division Working Paper No. 150, Population Council, New York 2001

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Annex 3: List of Interviews

Name Organization Position/Program/Specialization

Alaa Abdel Khaleq MISA-Governorate Alexandria Undersecretary of State for Social Affairs Mohamed Emad Eddin MISA-Governorate Alexandria Gen. Secretary Directorate of Social Affairs Alaa Abdel Meguid El Qasr MISA-Governorate Alexandria Gen. Dir. Dep. of Social Rehabilitation Laila Mohamed Shaker MISA-Governorate Alexandria Gen. Dir. Dep. of Family and Childhood Sahar El Dessouqi MISA-Governorate Alexandria Dir. Dep. of Foster Families Amira M. Abdel Moneim MISA-Governorate Alexandria Gen. Dir. Dep. of Social Defense Samia Abul Daqqa MoM-Governorate Alexandria Dir. Dep. of Child Labor Zein ??? MoI-Governorate Alexandria Dir. Dep. of Juvenile Delinquents Mustapha M. M. Hassan MoE-Governorate Alexandria Gen. Dir. of Project Implementation Hassan Nassif Governorate of Alexandria Director of investments (retired) Hosni Youssef MISA Central Administration for Social Care Kamal Sherif MISA Central Administration for NGOs Amb. Ahmed Abu Kheir MISA – SPI Project Project Director Yasmine Baligh MISA – SPI Project Program Officer Children at Risk Arig Hegazi MISA – SPI Project Program Officer Disabled Children Amb. Hussein El Sadr NCCM Deputy Secretary General Manal Shaheen NCCM Program Officer Child Protection Mona Amin NCCM Program Officer FGM Nevine El Qabash NCCM Program Officer Child Labor Azza Ashmawi NCCM Health Education Specialist Nakhla Abu Eissa ACCD Project Coordinator Dr. Youssef Wahba Caritas Alexandria Executive Director Hani Maurice Caritas Alexandria Street Children and Aids Prevention Program Sara Karim El Nimr Caritas Alexandria Street Children and Aids Prevention Program Osama Fathi Caritas Alexandria Street Children and Aids Prevention Program Tariq Omar Bright Tomorrow Association Executive Director Alexandria Ibtisam El Seyed Bakr Bright Tomorrow Association Director of the Bright Tomorrow Center Mohamed Abdel Aziz Bright Tomorrow Association Treasurer Prof. Dr. Bayoumi Gharib NGO for Nervous Diseases Physician of Faculty of Medicine, Alex univ. Ali Amin Selim Alex. Assoc. for Child Care Chairman of Board El Seyed Tayseer Sharqy Alex. Assoc. for Child Care Deputy Chairman of Board Mamdouh A. El Salamouni Alex. Assoc. for Child Care General Secretary Ibrahim Mohamed Alex. Assoc. for Child Care Treasurer Ilham Abdel Gawad Alex. Assoc. for Child Care Member Mohamed D. Ali Alex. Assoc. for Child Care Member Dr Ezz El Din Nasr El Hurriya Association Board Member Therwat El Said Kamal El Hurriya Association Child Labor Protection Project Wagdy Abdel Ghaffar El Hurriya Association Child Labor Protection Project Abla A. El Shenawi El Hurriya Association Child Labor Protection Project Bahaa El Din Mustapha El Hurriya Association Child Labor Protection Project Mohamed Rifaat El Hurriya Association Child Labor Protection Project Ferdous Gaafar Sidi Gaber Association Executive Director Adel Azer Egyptian Assoc. for Child Protection Dir. Center for Children’s Rights Mme. Nagiya Egyptian Assoc. for Child Protection Executive Director Ahmed Saleh Tayar El Shahid Osman Moharram NGO Board member Naguib Khouzam Seti Center Cairo Director Mona Sami Seti Center Cairo Coordinator CBR Samia Sami Seti Center Cairo Psychologist Hamdi A. Qenawi Save the Children UK Regional Program Coordinator Alaa Sabeh MD PhD Save the Children UK Disability Adviser Middle East & North Africa

List of Interviews (continued)

Name Organization Position/Program/Specialization

Nadra Zaki UNICEF Project Officer Child Protection Salma Wahba UNICEF Assistant Project Officer Adolescence Nadia Zibani Population Council Research Coordinator (gender and family) Dr. Amr Taha ILO Child Labor Specialist Essam Fawzi Researcher/consultant NGO institutional capacities, child labor Emile Charly Consultant Capacity-building specialist Sara Naguib Consultant Micro credit and loan programs Emad Therwat Ro’a Center Education and capacity-building specialist Faten Abdel Moneim Chairman of ADSEB (NGO) Community dev. specialist Suzanne Fayad Nadeem Center Psychiatrist, rehabilitation of victims of violence Sanaa Tobah Consultant Public services, education and voc. training systems