Egypt signs $400 mln deal with World Bank to help poor families

Newspaper Title: Alarabiya

Newspaper Number:

Saturday - 18 April 2015

The Egyptian government has signed a deal worth $400 million with the World Bank on Friday to support a project aiming to benefit 1.5 million poor families in the country, the Cairo-based Al Ahram newspaper reported.

The deal comes after Egypt earlier this year established conditional cash transfer projects called “Takaful” and “Karama” - Arabic for “Solidarity” and “Dignity.”

Takaful targets poor families with children younger than 18 to send them to schools while Karama helps the elderly and the disabled who are incapable of earning money.

The World Bank signed the deal as it believes these two projects are set to improve “social safety net system, which is a critical element to accompany any reforms,” said Hafez Ghanem, the institution’s regional vice president.

The World Bank currently has 26 projects underway in Egypt at a value of $5.4 billion.