More than 259,200 refugees and asylum seekers are currently registered with the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, in Egypt. Around half of them are Syrian; the others are mainly from African countries, such as Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
In 2020, we continued to run our integrated healthcare clinic in the capital. Launched in 2012, it offers a range of medical and mental health services, including sexual and reproductive healthcare, and treatment for people with physical and psychological trauma.
COVID-19 presented us with many operational challenges as airports closed, supply chains were interrupted, and curfews were imposed. Our teams developed innovative alternatives to in-person consultations in the areas of mental health, health promotion and social support to ensure the continuation of our services.
For example, we developed phone-based psychological support sessions for the first time, although we continued to offer emergency care in the clinic. From June, in-person consultations and services were gradually restored, reaching full capacity by the end of the year.
In spite of the challenges, our teams saw more new patients with symptoms of ill-treatment and physical abuse than in 2019. In addition to conducting mental health assessments and consultations both face to face and online, our teams connected patients to essential social services with our referral partners.
We continue to collaborate with the government, civil society groups, medical providers and academic institutions to identify pathways to expand our services to include more refugees, migrants and Egyptians who do not have access to care, specifically for sexual violence and ill-treatment.
No. staff in 2020: 158 (FTE) » Expenditure in 2020: €3.1 million MSF first worked in the country: 2010
