The Joint Platform for Migrants and Refugees in Egypt conducted its second meeting on Monday, July 4, 2022, with support from the United Nations in Egypt and the Arab Republic of Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The discussion, which was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, concentrated on ways to improve services for migrants and refugees in the areas of education and health.
In their capacity as co-chairs of the Joint Platform, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN in Egypt introduced the paper “Common Situational Analysis on Education and Health Services for Migrants and Refugees in Egypt” at this time.
The report was co-written by the Government of Egypt and the UN in Egypt and delivered by Mr. Laurent De Boeck, Chief of Mission of IOM in Egypt, and Mr. Pablo Mateu, Representative of UNHCR in Egypt, who jointly oversaw the UN work on the report.
Following the presentation, there was a discussion on the next steps, including joint approaches to implementation and funding modalities to further operationalize the Joint Platform, with the gathered senior government and UN representatives, the diplomatic community, development partners, and civil society organizations.
The Joint Platform is a groundbreaking coordinating mechanism that brings together the Government of Egypt, the UN, and international partners with the goal of enhancing public services provided to migrants and refugees in Egypt, particularly in the health and education sectors; increasing the sustainability of interventions; and increasing resilience.
Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister Ambassador Neveen El-Husseiny welcomed the involvement of various stakeholders and emphasized the importance of the Joint Platform as a pioneering coordinating mechanism.
Given the protracted nature of crises in the countries of origin of refugees and migrants in Egypt, Ambassador El-Husseiny reaffirmed that the Joint Platform represents a practical operationalization of the principle of burden-sharing with host countries as well as the humanitarian-development nexus.
“This analytic study is a first concrete result of our strong relationship with the Government through the Joint Platform for Migrants and Refugees in Egypt,” stated Ms. Elena Panova, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt, in welcoming the second meeting of the Joint Platform.
It offers a strong foundation for coordinated action to uphold and defend the rights of all migrants and refugees living in Egypt and to aid the government’s initiatives to integrate them into key public services, particularly in the areas of health and education.
The report gives a general review of the rights of immigrants and refugees to primary and higher education, as well as primary, curative, and preventative health care facilities, in accordance with Egyptian legislative standards.
According to the study, Egypt has generously provided for migrants and refugees to receive these services, frequently on an equal footing with Egyptians regardless of their nationality.
These services are offered to migrants and refugees at the same time that the government makes a large commitment.
The study also demonstrates that when access to essential services is restricted, the legal situation and the accessibility of pertinent documentation are important determinants.
Access is frequently controlled by the degree of implementation of the legal restrictions.
The report also reveals that roughly two thirds of migrants claimed that a lack of access to elementary education is mostly caused by a lack of financial means.
Similar to this, 40% of respondents cited high costs as a barrier to accessing healthcare.
Based on the analysis’s findings, recommendations for high-priority intervention areas were discussed.
These included staff capacity building, school and hospital rehabilitation, policy development, awareness-raising, and the strengthening of safety nets to increase access to and improve the caliber of education and healthcare services.
As a way to further operationalize the Cooperative Platform, other funding options and shared implementation strategies were also put up. These included joint programming and the creation of a multi-partner trust fund to finance a pipeline of projects.
The UN in Egypt and the Egyptian government together launched the Joint Platform on Migrants and Refugees on November 4, 2021, and this was its second meeting.
Government, the UN, development partners, donors, and other stakeholders are all represented on the Joint Platform.
In order to achieve long-term, sustainable development advantages for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers as well as their host communities, it attempts to improve coordination, guarantee better delivery, and mobilize resources. This improves social inclusion and cohesion.