Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 9 -15 November 2000 Issue No.507
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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Taking social development by the reins

By Dahlia Hammouda

At the first conference of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, president of the council's advisory board, said that promoting childhood and motherhood issues requires the combined effort of the government, the private sector and civil society in order to augment participation in the social development process. The meeting, presided over by Mrs Mubarak and attended by representatives of more than 80 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from across the country, was held on Sunday under the title: "Partnership in the Development of Childhood and Motherhood in Egypt".

The concern with childhood care and development emanates, Mrs Mubarak said, from one objective -- having a healthy child who can face the challenges of the present and future, a child who enjoys full civil and legislative protection.

More than 10 years ago, this concern was embodied on the local level in President Hosni Mubarak's issuing of a decree declaring 1989 to 1999 to be a decade for the protection of the Egyptian child. In the same year, the NCCM was established as the main body entrusted with making plans, policies and programmes for the advancement of children and women, as well as instituting a national programme to that end within the framework of the country's comprehensive plan for economic and social development.

Egypt's efforts in the area of children's rights also extended to the international level, as it was one of the first countries to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 and the Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children adopted at the World Summit for Children in 1990.

Pointing to the successes of Egypt's first child decade, Mrs Mubarak spoke of the great leaps forward taken during the four vital areas that directly affect the child -- health, education, culture and social care -- as well as complementary efforts in the media and legislative fields. The declaration of the Egyptian child decade, she said, was considered an ambitious plan of action executed through the NCCM, which set priorities for child services based on a proper scientific assessment.

"The president's ratification of a new decade for the Egyptian child was an announcement of a new stage of national action that builds on the achievements of the first child decade and in which all efforts must be combined to give more to the marginalised segments in society," Mrs Mubarak said.

Elaborating on this point, Mrs Mubarak referred to the president's directives announced in his speech at the National Conference for Social Development last September, the task of which was to draw up a comprehensive strategy for improving the quality of life particularly for those living below the poverty line. The president emphasised that the country's comprehensive development plan will not translate into concrete returns unless it is coupled with a social development plan that improves the lot of citizens.

"The president stressed the necessity of providing support to social organisations dedicated to caring for women, children and families and positioning childhood and motherhood issues in their proper place on the agenda of priorities for national action," she said. "For women and children to receive their fair share of education, enlightened culture, serious media attention, as well as health, social and economic care, a coordination of governmental, non-governmental and private efforts is vital for us to have a colleighbourhoods bustle again with aising the leading role of civil society organisations and NGOs in achieving social development, Mrs Mubarak offered a number of proposals that would enhance these entities' roles and render their efforts more effective. She called for the creation of a handbook of NGOs -- to be updated regularly -- comprising a list of these organisations, their aims, members and addresses, with the goal of simplifying communication and coordination between them.

She also called for the conduction of regular evaluations of NGOs' work -- the extent to which they are achieving their objectives and how effective their results are. Now that we have more than 9,000 registered NGOs, Mrs Mubarak said, these appraisals would serve to raise the quality of their performance, especially of those that do not conform to clear and accepted standards.

Mrs Mubarak also proposed forming a network of NGOs working in the field of childhood and motherhood, with the aim of exchanging expertise, avoiding duplication of functions and creating an effective link between NGOs and the NCCM. Finally, Mrs Mubarak called for the establishment of two permanent committees made up of experts and specialists in the legislative, procedural and information fields to survey the extent to which citizens are making use of NGOs' services. Also needing to be assessed is the degree to which these services meet the provisions of the second Egyptian child decade document and the international documents Egypt has signed for the protection of children's rights.

Speaking on behalf of the NCCM, Mrs Mubarak concluded: "We hope NGOs assume their responsibility as full partners in all stages of work related to the advancement of childhood and motherhood in Egypt."

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