UNICEF/J-PAL MENA's conference on “Using Evidence to Inform Decision-Making in Egypt”

Cairo, 15 January 2023 – Today, the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Middle East and North Africa (J-PAL MENA) at the American University in Cairo and UNICEF, supported by Allianz, co-hosted a conference titled “Global Evidence for Egypt: Using Evidence to Inform Decision-Making in Egypt”.

The conference aimed to foster discussions around Egypt’s policy priorities using rigorous evidence from J-PAL’s global evidence base and identify paths to inform poverty reduction policies in Egypt. It consisted of three panel discussions, which focused on generating and using evidence to guide policy making, and evidence from randomized evaluations on human capital development and women’s empowerment as well as financial inclusion and rural development.

The conference featured high-level representatives from the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood. It also included Dr. Ahmad Dallal, President of the American University in Cairo, Alison Fahey, Executive Director of J-PAL MENA at AUC, and Luigi Peter Ragno, Chief of Social Policy at UNICEF Egypt on behalf of Jeremy Hopkins, UNICEF Representative in Egypt.

Jeremy Hopkins said: "UNICEF values our continued partnership with J-PAL. Well-designed policies that support the fulfilment of children’s rights are informed by evidence and its analysis. Together we will support the production and analysis of national evidence and to draw on global evidence in order to contribute to such analysis. The Impact Lab, established last year, will look at what works and how best to inform the design and improvement of national programmes to improve child well-being.”

Alison Fahey added: “We are glad to share insights from J-PAL’s evidence base because lessons from rigorous research can help government, NGOs, and the private sector to design and deliver effective development programs. Our Global Evidence for Egypt partnership with UNICEF has disseminated evidence from randomized evaluations that is relevant to the Government of Egypt’s key initiatives across multiple sectors. Today, we’re happy to bring lessons in health, social protection, gender, and financial inclusion together with efforts led by our partners in MPED, MoSS, NCW, MSMEDA, and NCCM, and we hope that today's discussions will surface opportunities for evidence to inform poverty reduction policies in Egypt.”

Rigorous impact evaluations conducted by J-PAL affiliated professors shed light on what works and what does not work to help reduce poverty; these insights can also help improve development outcomes and can support government efforts to make evidence-informed policy decisions. 

The Panel discussions centered on the topics of ‘generating and using evidence to inform policymaking in Egypt’, ‘local application of evidence on human capital development and women’s empowerment, and ‘local application of evidence on financial inclusion and rural development’.

This conference is part of J-PAL MENA at AUC and UNICEF’s Global Evidence for Egypt Spotlight Seminar Series, established in 2019 to encourage dialogues that tailor insights from J-PAL’s global evidence base of almost 1,200 randomized evaluations conducted in 91 countries, to the Egyptian context. This dialogue aims to promote the use of evidence to design and implement effective policies and programs in Egypt across areas of social protection, gender, youth unemployment, education, and health, with children and youth being at the center of this discussion. 

About J-PAL MENA at AUC 

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Middle East and North Africa (J-PAL MENA) at The American University in Cairo’s School of Business is a regional office established in July 2020, as a part of a larger network of research centers worldwide working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. Anchored by a network of more than 200 affiliated professors at universities around the world, J-PAL MENA draws on results from randomized impact evaluations to answer critical questions in the fight against poverty. We build partnerships with governments, NGOs, donors, and others to share this knowledge, scale up effective programs, and advance evidence-informed decision-making. 

J-PAL was launched at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003 and has regional centers in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. For more information, visit povertyactionlab.org.

About The American University in Cairo School of Business

Boasting an unrivalled reputation as the top private business school in Egypt and one of the best in Africa and the Arab world, AUC School of Business is dedicated to transforming the eager and innovative minds of today to become the responsible change agents of tomorrow, all while developing relevance and leadership in an evolving ecosystem.  

Situated within AUC and enjoying nearly seven decades’ worth of history, the School offers a wide range of programs and activities that extend beyond the classroom to provide a holistic and engaging experiential learning approach. The School’s seal of excellence is the Triple Crown accreditation, which places it among the top 1 percent of educational institutions worldwide to achieve the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the Association of MBAs and the European Quality Improvement System accreditations. 

For more information, visit business.aucegypt.edu

About The American University in Cairo 

Founded in 1919, The American University in Cairo (AUC) is a leading English-language, American-accredited institution of higher education and center of the intellectual, social, and cultural life of the Arab world. It is a vital bridge between East and West, linking Egypt and the region to the world through scholarly research, partnerships with academic and research institutions and study abroad programs.

The University offers 40 undergraduate, 52 master’s and two PhD programs rooted in a liberal arts education that encourages students to think critically and find creative solutions to conflicts and challenges facing both the region and the world.

An independent, nonprofit, politically non-partisan, non-sectarian and equal opportunity institution, AUC is fully accredited in Egypt and the United States. For more information, visit www.aucegypt.edu/