Welcome to LIA-Egypt!

While Egypt is famous for its ancient history – Giza’s pyramids and Sphinx, papyrus and hieroglyphics, powerful dynasties and pharaohs – modern Egypt boasts one of the most developed economies in North Africa, and this land bridge to the Middle East remains an important political player in the region.

Most of the country’s 79 million people live along the famous Nile River, where arable land enables them to farm. Oil and tourism buoy this country’s economy. Egypt is the third-largest recipient of aid from the United States.

Still, recent years have brought changes to election policies and laws governing religion, which have threatened democratic processes in Egypt, as well as religious freedom. Coptic Christians in particular have faced stringent persecution.

Africans from throughout the continent are attempting to immigrate to Egypt in search of better living conditions, but in Egypt up to one-fifth of the country still lives below the poverty line, and urban slums are often characterized by insanitary living conditions. In “garbage villages,” for example, residents live among trash and recyclables that they gather, sort, and resell, as well as livestock that provide food and income. In Cairo, Alexandria, and other cities, slum residents suffer from disease, unstable housing stock, and unemployment.

Click on the image below to learn more about the work of LIA in this area.