The National Council for Women (NCW), represented by the Women’s Complaints Office (WCO), in partnership with the Department of Psychiatry at Al-Kasr Alainy Hospital, Cairo University and in collaboration with UN Women Egypt and the European Union Delegation to Egypt, launched the first specialized professional training programme for psychosocial support and case management for service providers.
The programme falls within the framework of the national efforts to continue to strengthen the services provided to women through the national referral system to support women survivors, and within the efforts to implement the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030, focusing on the protection pillar which aims to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.
The launching event took place at the Faculty of Medicine in Al-Kasr Alainy- the academic institution in charge of offering comprehensive theoretical and practical studies- and was attended by Manal Al-Masry, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University; Noha Sabry, Head of Integrative Psychiatric Unit at the Faculty of Medicine, Al-Kasr Alainy, Cairo University; Amal Abdel Moneim, Director of the Women’s Complaints Office at the NCW; and Salma Nasser; Ending Violence against Women Programme Specialist at UN Women.
During the event, Ms. Amal Abdel Moneim confirmed that the launch of this training programme marks the culmination of great efforts that have been exerted over the past four years. She added that this training is the first of its kind in Egypt and will be offered to case managers across all governorates to equip them with the necessary skills to prepare trained professionals capable of offering psychological and social support to survivors, free of charge. She also highlighted that support will also be provided remotely (online), under the supervision of the Women’s Complaints Office, and cases that require medical attention will be referred to specialized doctors and psychiatrists, emphasizing the huge impact that COVID-19 had on many women and girls.
In her speech, Noha Sabry presented ways to provide psychological and social support, outlining the training programme and its modules, duration, and its theoretical and practical components. Sabry confirmed that the training will be delivered under the direct supervision of accredited psychiatric centers. The programme covers a wide range of topics, such as the theoretical background of women’s psychological, social, and economic status, as well as psychological and social challenges and disorders that women may face. She added that the programme introduces the ethics of psychological counseling, essential counseling skills, and techniques of psychological support for addressing challenges that women face.
Manal Al-Masry confirmed that the training serves as the central hub for supporting women’s mental health in a systematic and scientific manner, under the leadership of specialized professors. She also highlighted the different types of psychological centers and the services available for women through online programmes.
In her remarks, Salma Nasser highlighted the importance of such training as it seeks to prepare qualified cadres to provide psychological and social support services that address the needs of women and the society at large.
The development of this training programme included establishing a scientific council chaired by Menen Abdel Maqsoud, Head of the General Secretariat for Mental Health, bringing together experts in the field of psychology and psychiatry (Adel Madani, Ismail Sadeq, Nabil Al-Kat, Alfat Allam, Mona Abu Tira, and Mohamed Khalil) to ensure that the development of such training follows a scientific as well as a survivor-centered approach that addresses the needs of women survivors. The training curriculum was developed with the generous support of the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
