During a celebration held on Tuesday to mark International Women’s Day under the slogan “The Egyptian woman is an icon of success,” the UNFPA Egypt and NCW announced the launch of Noura initiative under the auspices of the first lady.

Aiming to empower girls in Egypt, the Noura initiative was launched by the NCW with the support of the UNFPA and in partnership with the ministries of planning, international cooperation, emigration and The National Council For Childhood & Motherhood.

“UNFPA is proud of her Excellency’s endorsement of Noura, which prioritises building girls’ health and social assets as well as their educational skills and empowers them economically to achieve a better future for themselves and for Egypt,” the UNFPA said in its statement thanking Entissar El-Sisi.

NCW also announced the launch of the Dawwie initiative, also under the auspices of the first lady, during the event.

The Dawwie initiative also aims to empower girls in Egypt and was launched in partnership with UNICEF, The National Council For Childhood & Motherhood and the ministries of education, health, youth and sports, telecommunication and social solidarity.

“NCW, headed by Dr Maya, and its members expressed their huge gratitude and appreciation to Egypt’s First Lady Entissar El-Sisi for sponsoring Dawwie and Noura initiatives that were launched by the council to empower Egyptian girls as part of the national project to support Egyptian families in the Decent Life project’s villages,” the NCW said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The Decent Life national project (Hayah Karima) was initiated experimentally in 2019 by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and its first phase was officially launched in July 2021. The project aims to improve standards of living, infrastructure, and basic services including health care across the countryside.

The project covers 4,658 villages across the country, which are home to 58 percent of Egypt’s 102 million population, with an estimated budget of EGP 700 billion (about $44.6 billion). Its first phase, whose budget is estimated at EGP 250 billion and covers 1,500 villages, is due to be completed by the end of the 2021-22 fiscal year.