In Egypt, Terre des hommes (Tdh) gives support to nearly 50 villages spread throughout the country, in the fields of mother and child health and nutrition, access to healthcare, environmental development of the villages, active participation of women in the community, and through a programme of micro credits.

Mother and child health and nutrition – Terre des hommes is regarded as a national re- ference on this subject, emphasising the importance of medical check-ups and proper diet during pregnancy, and of exclusive breast-feeding for as long as possible.

An important piece of work was initiated by the public authorities, which in 2003 led to the Ministry of Health participating in the im- plementation of national campaigns.
However, the poor literacy rate of women, the lack of access to basic social services as well as the deeply ingrained local customs, are the main hindrances to a noticeable improvement.

The numerous other projects underway, as well as intervening from a distance, make the work of Terre des hommes particularly complex. We are leading a programme of environmental intervention in the villages (waste removal and installation of sewerage, for lasting development); a project to improve access to healthcare; another of medical and social support for handicapped children; working on improving the participation of women in decision-making; and enabling easier access to micro credits to improve the quality of life of these families.

Terre des hommes is also regarded as the pioneer in the promotion of a child protection policy. In Egypt, Terre des hommes gives support to nearly 50 villages spread throughout the country, in the fields of mother and child health and nutrition, access to healthcare, environmental development of the villages, active participation of women in the community, and through a programme of micro credits.


Tdh yesterday…
Since 1983 Tdh has run a programme, in Upper Egypt, for children handicapped by polio. With the virtual eradication of the illness, Tdh moved its focus to the much wider problem of child health. The project started in 2000 is focused on mother and child health and nutrition. It offers medical check-ups to pregnant women throughout their pregnancy, and prevents or treats child illnesses. Village committees have been created to support our action, underlining the importance of the community aspect of our projects.

In 2002, a new health and protection project was set up in Tel El Kebir for nearly 25,000 people. In 2004, a sanitation project was started in Sohag for approximately 100,000 people: sewerage, waste management, micro credits and mother and child protection. A community rehabilitation project for handicapped children has been run since 2004, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Finally, Tdh has started a project with UNICEF, which integrates community participation into the Ministry of Health’s reforms.


…and tomorrow
An important country within a sensitive region, Egypt represents an important laboratory of interventions for Tdh. Our delegation works with sizeable budgets and reaches a record number of beneficiaries, and our expertise is recognised through numerous institutional relationships. In addition, the stability of the country offers interesting angles for development. Tdh is very well placed with the authorities for ambitious projects to come.


Real life
My name is Ahmed, I’m 14 and I’m the oldest in a family of six children. We live very modestly, as my dad only earns CHF 65 per month. At 4 months I started to suffer from polio. One day, a person from the health centre came to my village. The doctors examined me. I was given a wheelchair, which allowed me to move around. They also gave me some medicines to make me feel better.

After all this care, I wanted to go to school with the other kids from my village. Unfortunately, my parents didn’t have enough money to send me to school. Today, I would be illiterate if Terre des hommes hadn’t bought me a uniform, exercise books and all the school kit I needed. Now I’m in secondary school and I’m very happy there. When I grow up, I would like to be a teacher and teach other children that they must never give up hope and that there is always someone to help you.

Terre des hommes has also helped us to gain access to drinking water at home and with installing sewerage. This is important for our hygiene and health, all the more so as I’m going to get another little brother or sister soon. And my mum doesn’t want him to get ill. So she regularly goes to the health centre, and learns a lot about hygiene for pregnant women, important for the well being of the baby that will soon come into the world!