Egypt

The fabled "land of the pyramids" is home to over 70 million people. While Egypt attracts tourism and has some natural resources, millions of Egyptians remain poor, struggling to obtain enough food and clean water for their families. Before the food price crisis, estimates from the World Bank showed that 23 percent of Egypt's population lived below the national poverty line, and 12 percent of children under the age of 5 suffered from malnutrition. Now, the situation is even more critical—especially for refugees who flee to Egypt from nearby countries like Sudan.

For over 50 years, Catholic Relief Services has worked with local partners to provide food, health care, education and income-generating programs to poor Egyptians.

Today, CRS Egypt improves the lives of over 80,000 poor people. Our current programs focus on helping refugees, providing villages with clean water and sanitation, encouraging democracy, and giving loans to women to develop small home-based businesses.