Egypt among MENA's leading countries in social protection

The report, titled "Built to Include: Reimagining Social Protection in the Middle East and North Africa," sheds light on key factors that impact people's economic conditions in MENA.

Egypt is among the few countries in the region that has built a shock-responsive system to deliver income support to the poor, the report said.

Assistance to the poor

The report showed that Egypt, alongside Jordan, are the only countries in the MENA region whose cash transfer programmes cover most of the poor.

"Egypt and Jordan are good examples of countries that have increased coverage to more than half of the poorest 20 percent of their populations through a combination of increased funding, better targeting of the poor, and consolidation of programmes into a single cost-effective cash transfer programme (Takaful and Karama Programme in Egypt)."

The Takaful and Karama Programme was launched in 2015 to support impoverished families with school-age children, the elderly and people with special needs in Upper Egypt.