'A better tomorrow' for children

By Rania Khallaf

Mrs Suzanne Mubarak administers the polio vaccine to a child during last week's campaign to eradicate polio in Egypt by the beginning of 1999

Cooperation is essential, Mrs Mubarak said in Sunday's address, if pressing problems such as illiteracy, malnutrition and delinquency are to be solved.

"During the past 10 years, Egyptian society has witnessed major and multi-faceted changes, such as improved health, education and culture services, with special emphasis on activities that are related to motherhood and childhood," Mrs Mubarak said.

She said Egypt was enforcing a policy of comprehensive development "that is not confined to traditional economic investment but is also directed at social investment, which is the cornerstone of serving childhood".

Promoting social awareness, an indicator of progress, is a major responsibility that must be shouldered by the NGOs, she said.

"Our future plan of action should be based on scientific methodology corresponding to the latest advances, such as the availability of accurate and easy-to-use information systems," she added.

Improving conditions of Egyptian children entails determining priorities if progress is to be made quickly in dealing with pressing problems, Mrs Mubarak said.

Children's rights have become an integral part of legislative and judicial activities, she continued, adding that tampering with these rights in any form is a crime punishable by law. "We should consider how best to stiffen the penalty against those who violate children's rights, whether they are employers or caterers of food or medication," Mrs Mubarak said.

Strengthening the abilities of NGOs, particularly NGOs working in the childhood sector, "is an objective which we all pursue vigorously, by providing their cadres with support, facilitating their work and providing them with well-trained social workers," Mrs Mubarak added.

"Despite the achievements of the past few years, the gap continues to exist between children of urban areas and those living in the provinces... This adds to our responsibilities and forces us to concert our efforts in order to improve conditions in rural areas," she said. "Therefore, we should adopt, as quickly as we can, a joint working plan to surmount all obstacles which prevent us from achieving a better tomorrow."

On Monday, Mrs Mubarak presided over a conference of 12 Arab countries, organised by the national committee of UNESCO. The two-day meeting aimed at assessing Egypt's "Reading for All" programme and ways of implementing the same programme in other Arab countries.