History

For nearly four decades, the American people have partnered with the people of Egypt to promote an environment where all groups in Egyptian society – including women and minorities – can lead healthy, productive lives.

Since 1978, the U.S. Agency for International Development has provided nearly $30 billion for programs in education, health, economic development, and governance.  These programs were designed in coordination with – and in support of – Egyptians to ensure that future generations will have the tools to succeed. 

USAID's programs have directly and fundamentally supported gains such as:

• the elimination of polio in Egypt, 
• reduction in infant and maternal mortality rates,
• improvement in reading ability in the early grades, and
• an increase in marketable skills – leading to jobs and lasting prosperity in Egypt.

Critical to Egypt's ability to increase trade and investment, USAID:

• helped to improve and expand telecommunications networks,
• supported the reduction of lead levels in the air in greater Cairo by more than 65 percent,
• helped to decentralize the water and sanitation sector, and
• have improved water and wastewater facilities in Greater Cairo, the North Coast, and Upper Egypt that benefit over 25 million people.

Further, conservation work at some 70 sites throughout the country has included groundwater lowering at the Giza Plateau, protecting the Sphinx and other internationally and historically significant cultural treasures. 

USAID programs are designed in coordination with Egyptians to create sustainable prosperity. Programs seek to improve agricultural and water productivity and enhance livelihoods in rural zones where poverty and lack of jobs, especially for youth and women, are issues.

USAID helps to ensure that future generations will have the tools to succeed and provides opportunities for Egypt’s large youth population as it enters higher education and the workforce. We seek to enhance the contributions of civil society as a whole – with a focus on women and youth – to build institutions and to achieve political and economic reforms.