Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed and Mercedes s officials in Stuttgart city (Photo courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Health)
Some 1,510 vehicles will be received between October and mid-2022, the rest by the beginning of 2023, a health ministry statement read on Thursday.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between Health Minister Hala Zayed and Mercedes' officials in Stuttgart city.
The vehicles will be running on environmentally friendly engines, with less vibration and emissions, making Egypt the second country after Germany to use these advanced engines, the statement noted.
The Decent Life initiative, meaning Hayah Karima in Arabic, is a series of countryside-focused infrastructure projects, which aims to improve the standard of living, infrastructure, and basic services, and targets 58 percent of Egypt’s 102-million population.
With overall investments of EGP 700 billion, the initiative seeks to improve livelihoods in over 4,500 villages within the framework of the Sustainable Development Strategy of Egypt's 2030 Vision.
The initiative’s first phase started in January 2021 with a budget of nearly EGP 200 billion and is due to be completed by the end of FY 2021-22.
The initiative also addresses issues faced by Egyptian women by providing family guidance, counselling offices, and reproductive health clinics. It also provides decent housing in new complexes and, wherever possible, develops existing housing.
In terms of education services, the initiative is building 13,000 classrooms. In the healthcare sector, the national project is meant to develop existing health units, construct new hospitals, and implement the new Universal Health Insurance System.
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