Towards a better future
THIS week Mrs Suzanne Mubarak pursued an agenda promoting health care and cultural awareness.
On Saturday Mrs Mubarak inaugurated the Third National Conference to Combat Blindness. Addressing the audience, Mrs Mubarak affirmed Egypt's commitment to adopt all possible measures to reduce the number of Egyptians who lose their sight for avoidable or treatable reasons. "Egypt has always shown sensitivity to the needs and rights of the people with optic disabilities. But we also believe that we have to pursue a preventive strategy to prevent illnesses and other reasons leading to ocular disabilities," she said.
According to Mrs Mubarak, the prevention of optic disabilities, as well as appropriate care and education for individuals who suffer from them, stems from Egypt's firm commitment to social rights. In addition, she stressed that prevention and treatment are essential in countries that suffer the highest rates of optic disabilities because their economic growth and development depend on the efforts of every individual.
Egypt, Mrs Mubarak said, is committed to the 2020 target date set by the World Health Organisation to combat all unnecessary causes of optic disabilities.
On the same day, Mrs Mubarak inaugurated the third phase of the Zeinhom Urban Development Scheme (ZDUS). Initiated under the auspices of Mrs Mubarak a few years ago, the ZDUS aims to improve living conditions for thousands of people in Zeinhom, an informal neighbourhood that has for years been merely a shanty town.
During the first phase of the project 29 apartment buildings were constructed at a cost of LE30 million, while the target for the second phase, initiated last January, is 50 more apartment buildings. In addition to increasing the number of housing units, the third phase of the ZDUS includes improving public services and infrastructure in Zeinhom, Mrs Mubarak said. In Alexandria on Sunday evening, Mrs Mubarak attended the first anniversary of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In a speech before an international audience taking part in the celebrations, Mrs Mubarak stressed the need for more efforts to increase the level of cultural awareness in Egypt. "I can proudly say that Bibliotheca Alexandrina has indeed endowed the world with an international institution of intellectual excellence," she said.
