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WFP Egypt Country Brief, December 2024

Attachments

In Numbers

  • 450,000* people assisted in December 2024
  • 31 mt of food assistance distributed
  • US$ 4 m cash-based transfers made
  • US$ 10 m (January 2 – June 2025) net funding requirements

*Figures presented are estimates based on available data at time of publication.

Operational Updates

Crisis Response

  • WFP scaled-up its humanitarian response efforts supporting approximately 230,000 refugees and crisisaffected populations, including Sudanese newcomers, with monthly cash assistance in Greater Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Luxor and other cities. This covers more than 20 percent of the most vulnerable people out of the 1 million refugee population to be registered by mid-2025, according to UNHCR.

Self-Reliance for Refugees, Crisis-Affected Populations and Host Communities.

  • WFP provided vocational training to over 400 refugees, crisis-affected populations and host community members in December, bringing the total to over 5,500 people since January 2024. Since launching the mentorship and microgrants programme in September 2024, WFP also provided business trainings to almost 1,300 participants as a first step in its micro-grants programme. This programme provides mentorship and seed funding to promote the establishment and growth of small enterprises.
  • WFP continued supporting more than 8,000 pregnant and breastfeeding refugee women with children under two through cash-based transfers, conditional on attending monthly health check-ups.

School-Based Programme

  • WFP provided cash assistance to 34,000 families of community school students, conditional upon their children’s school attendance, to protect their livelihoods against economic shocks. More than 35,000 students in five governorates also received in-school snacks.
  • WFP collaborated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education to train 80 community schoolteachers on the “Life Saving Boats” presidential initiative, aiming to raise awareness on the risks of irregular migration and safer alternatives.

Nutrition

  • Under the ‘First 1,000 Days’ national nutrition programme, WFP and the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MOSS) provided cash top-ups to about 46,732 pregnant and breastfeeding women registered under the national social protection programme, ‘Takaful and Karama (‘Solidarity and Dignity’).

Climate Resilience and Support to Smallholder Farmers

  • In light of Egypt’s climate and water scarcity challenges, WFP upgraded 27 water canals across 862 feddans (362 hectares), benefitting 769 farmers by reducing water loss during irrigation and increasing efficiency.
  • To improve their livelihoods, in December, WFP provided 601 women with ducks on a loan basis and trained 1,335 women on best practices for raising poultry.
  • Together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, WFP mobilized and raised awareness among 855 individuals across various regions on the impact of climate change on agriculture and livelihoods, and strategies to mitigate and adapt to these risks.

Local Development

  • In collaboration with the Ministry of Local Development, WFP implemented a training programme to enhance the capacities of village-level economic development teams. This training equipped 305 team members (216 males and 89 females) with essential skills, including economic surveys, resource mapping, and supporting local entrepreneurship, empowe