Government of Egypt and UN hold second meeting of Joint Platform for Migrants and Refugees in Egypt

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On Monday 4 July 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Nations in Egypt held the second meeting of the Joint Platform for Migrants and Refugees in Egypt. The meeting, hosted at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focused on enhancing education and health services for migrants and refugees as well as means of implementation. On this occasion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN in Egypt, as co-chairs of the Joint Platform, launched a report “Common Situational Analysis on Education and Health Services for Migrants and Refugees in Egypt”. The study was jointly prepared by the Government of Egypt and the UN in Egypt and presented by the Chief of Mission of IOM in Egypt, Mr. Laurent De Boeck, and the UNHCR Representative in Egypt, Mr. Pablo Mateu, who jointly led the UN work on the report. Following the presentation there was an exchange with gathered senior Government and UN representatives, the diplomatic community, development partners and civil society organizations on the way forward, including joint approaches to implementation and funding modalities to further operationalize the Joint Platform.

Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister, Ambassador Neveen El-Husseiny welcomed  the engagement of various stakeholders and stressed on the importance of the Joint Platform as a pioneer coordinating mechanism that includes the Government of Egypt, the UN and international partners, with the aim of enhancing public services provided to migrants and refugees in Egypt, particularly in  health and education sectors; increasing the sustainability of interventions and resilience; as well as supporting cohesion within host communities. Ambassador El-Husseiny confirmed that the Joint Platform represents a practical operationalization of the principle of burden-sharing with host countries as well as the humanitarian- developmental nexus given the protracted nature of crises in the countries of origin of refugees and migrants in Egypt.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator to Egypt, Ms. Elena Panova, welcomed the second meeting of the Joint Platform and said: “This analytic study is a first concrete result of our strong partnership with the Government through the Joint Platform for Migrants and Refugees in Egypt. It provides an excellent basis for joint action to support and protect the rights of all migrants and refugees in Egypt and support the Government’s efforts to include refugees and migrants in essential public services, particularly education and health.”

The analysis provides an overview of the entitlements of migrants and refugees to education and health services according to Egyptian legal provisions, in primary and university education, and primary, curative and preventive health care facilities. The study confirms that Egypt has generously made provisions for migrants and refugees to benefit from these services, often on par with Egyptians based on their nationality. Concurrently, the Government makes a significant investment, providing these services to migrants and refugees. The study also shows that access is often determined by the level of implementation of the legal provisions, while the legal status and the availability of relevant documentation are key factors when access to basic services is constrained. The study further shows that nearly two thirds of migrants indicated that limited financial resources are the main reason for a lack of access to primary education. Similarly, 40 % indicated high fees as a reason for lack of access to health services.

Based on the findings of the analysis suggestions were discussed for priority areas of intervention in terms of infrastructure improvements and rehabilitation of schools and hospitals, capacity building of staff, policy development, awareness raising, and strengthening protection mechanisms to enhance access to and improve the quality of education and health services. In addition, different funding modalities and joint approaches to implementation were presented as a way to further operationalize the Joint Platform, including joint programming and the establishment of a multi partner trust fund to finance a pipeline of projects.

This was the second meeting of the Joint Platform on Migrants and Refugees in Egypt, launched on 4 November 2021 by the Government of Egypt and the UN in Egypt. The Joint Platform brings together Government, the UN, development partners, donors and other stakeholders. It seeks to enhance coordination, ensure better delivery and mobilize resources to realize long term, sustainable development gains for migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and their host communities, enhancing social inclusion and cohesion.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations In Egypt.