Egypts Grand Challengs
Egypt, as a developing country, faces a lot of challenges that slow the pace of its development. Contribution in order to overcome those challenges that are also very disastrous world-wide are needed. In other words, a lot of countries including Egypt suffer from these problems, therefore solving them is necessary. An identification for Egypt’s grand challenges and their solutions is also required as they are popular among many countries including: Egypt, The United states, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria and many more. Examples for these challenges are overpopulation, arid areas, urban congestion, recycling, public health and pollution. It’s the state where the human population rises to an extent that exceeds the carrying capacity of the surrounding environment. Fewer than 800 people populated the earth in the mid of the 18th century, today barely 250 years later we are more than 7. 5 billion people. Taking into account the fact that human beings appeared more than 4 million years ago. The following graph shows the growth of human population over the years.
Overpopulation: Causes: Overpopulation is caused by a number of factors which involve the decline in death rates, the development in the field of medicine and a number of bad habits. Egypt’s population has reached nearly 100 million people and is still rising, having such large population present in a small, condensed area leads to several other problems. The decline in death rates: Overpopulation depend on the difference between birth rates and death rates in populations, when the birth rates are much higher than death rates, society becomes overpopulated as in Egypt. If the number of children born each year equals the number of adults that die, the population will stabilize. The discovery of agriculture by our ancestors provided them with the ability to sustain their nutrition without hunting leading to the immense overpopulation and the imbalance between birth and death rates.
The development in the field of medicine: During the old ages, there has been many deadly diseases for which there was no cure. Today, the development in the field of medicine has helped to save the lives of many, but also leading to a big rise in the population. Examples for these diseases are Chicken pox, Diphtheria, Influenza, Malaria. Many diseases are still roaming about in some countries causing many dangerous situations and scenarios as in the figure below. The graph below shows the deadliest diseases worldwide in 2016.
Bad habits in the fields of agriculture: Farmers in Egypt are accustomed to some negative habits that lead to a dramatic rise in society. Some of these habits are: early marriage and having many children. Farmers tend to have a lot of children so that they may help them with their work. Having many children eases the pressure on them and helps them to reduce stress. Arid areas: Egypt has nearly 100 million people, but there are 11 million of us in Cairo only according to the statistics of 2018. The population density in the Egyptian capital (Cairo) is estimated at 46,349 people per square kilometer. This means that the society of Egypt is only concentrated at certain parts of it, leaving the rest of its land empty and abandoned, leading to the problem of arid areas.
Causes: People usually abandon areas because of: lack of water, unavailability of job opportunities, unavailability of servicesLack of water: Egypt’s consists of 86% dry lands, 10% semi-arid lands and 4% non-dry areas. Dry areas in Egypt includes two deserts: the western and eastern deserts. There are many causes of dry lands like: climate change, biodiversity extinction air and water pollution, enrichments of POPs resources, removal of biofuels, over-cultivation, overgrazing and mismanagement of water resources. You can notice how Egypt is the 6th according to population density from the graph below. Unavailability of job opportunities: Although the number of arid areas is larger than that of crowded areas, the projects in arid areas are less than those in crowded areas. Some reasons for this are: unavailability of natural resources such as water, lack of good market availability, unavailability of good technology, unavailability of services. These leads to migration from arid areas to crowded cities leading to the increment of pressure on these cities. Migration also doesn’t raise the economic level nor does it raise the standard of living, so it’s harmful.
Unavailability of services: There is a lack of services in arid areas, as there are few hospitals, schools, embassies and universities. Most of these services are provided in cities which increases population density. The unavailability of services is caused by poor resources, weak financial capacity, low number of inhabitants. The following graph shows the number of beds in one of the governorates in Egypt. Urban congestion: It’s the increase in density of population in a small area. Congestion levels increase in all urban cities around the world. Dina Shehayeb, professor of housing and urban design at Egypt’s Housing and Building Research Centre (HBRC), tells that we must address the source of the problem to find perfect solutions. “With any problem, you must address the cause of the issue, and not just the symptoms themselves,” states Shehayeb. There is a lot of urban congestion in Egypt such as the areas around the Nile river (Nile vale) and Delta. A lot of people prefer to live in these areas due to the availability of fresh water. They can also implant many crops due to the availability of agricultural factors. One of the dominant forms of urban congestion is traffic congestion which is present in almost every city in the world. Causes: Not making use of empty areas: As the numbers of society are increasing, so does the pressure on main cities and areas with services. This figure shows where people are concentrated in Egypt. Only areas around the Nile river and the Delta are populated, while the rest of Egypt’s land is semi-empty. Building cities around those areas is necessary to decrease the population in cities.
Traffic congestion: Traffic congestion is one of the most popular problems in Egypt that affect the density of roads and areas. It’s caused by multiple factors including the increase in the number of cars, obstacles in the road, road capacity isn’t that much or too many citizens crossing the road at once. This problem is at its strongest in Cairo where there are more than 10 million people. Public health: Public health is the overall state of a population. Whether its state is healthy or dangerous. Whether there are epidemics of multiple disease in the country or not. Egypt’s health challenges are influenced by poverty; they also have the potential to impact the country’s economy over the long term. Poor women are 20% less likely to receive regular medical care than wealthy women. The ratio of the children that died in wealthy quintile are 19 deaths per 1000 live births but in poor areas the ratio is 42 deaths for 1000 live births also the rates of childhood stunting are high. Egypt also has the highest rate of hepatitis C in the world seven percent of Egyptians between the ages of 15 and 59 suffer from chronic hepatitis C. Causes: Poverty: Poverty has led to the un-ability of a large portion of Egypt’s population to live a healthy life. The lack of education and the unavailability of jobs have also been a factor leading to poverty. Many of Egypt’s population can’t bear hospital fees leading to the spread of many diseases. One of the deadliest examples for these diseases is Virus C as mentioned before. This graph shows the spread of HCV in Egypt and other countries. Pollution: Pollution is when something is added to the environment which is very harmful such as when this thing is toxic or deadly to animals, people or living things, this is called pollution. There are many types of pollution, each type has its own causes and effects. Types of pollution that are very popular in Egypt are air pollution and water pollution. Air pollution: Air pollution can be estimated by the presence of toxic chemicals or compounds in the air at levels that have a risk to health. In a better sense air pollution means the presence of chemical or compounds in the air which usually causes lower quality to the air then it causes dangerous changes to the quality of our life such as the damaging of the ozone layer or causing global warming.
Causes of air pollution: Air pollution comes from many sources, the main source of them being human activities like the burning of fossil fuels such as coal to generate the electricity for homes and factories, or diesel and benzene to power our cars, buses, planes, etc. Industrial processes, such as the dust and chemical compounds that comes out from factory chimneys in Egypt or other countries. Agriculture, which is a major source of methane and ammonia. Disposal of waste by burning it that causes a lot of lungs disease to the Egyptians. Dirty indoor cooking and heating systems, a major problem in Egypt and developing countries. Volcanic eruptions and dust storms and those are natural factors. Impacts of air pollution: Around the world, there are nearly 7 million people who die every year from air pollution. The three biggest killers regarding air pollution are strokes (2. 2million deaths), heart disease (2million deaths), and lung disease and cancer (1. 7million deaths). The following chart demonstrates the number of diseases and deaths that are caused by air pollution. Water pollution: Water pollution is defined as the quantity of toxic chemical and biological agents in the water that exceed what is naturally found in it. Water pollution may have a threat to human life and the environment. Additionally, water pollution consists of chemicals introduced into the water as a result of human activity. Any amount of those chemicals may pose to human health and the environment. Causes of water pollution: The main reason behind the water pollution is chemical and industrial processes. This is because of the factories in Egypt disposing of industrial and animals waste by throwing it into the water stream, then threats the environment and human health. The second reason is thermal pollution which is caused by reducing the amount of oxygen in the water which in turn causes the deaths of the plants and marine organisms by changing the water temperature. Furthermore, there is another reason that causes water pollution such as organic and inorganic pollutants, plastic waste and pesticide.
For further clarification, pesticides and chemical fertilizers increase the amount of nutrient in water. Thus, provides a good environment to grow algae in water. This diminishes the amount of oxygen in the water, which leads to the death of marine animals. Impacts of water pollution: A report by Egyptian organization talked about Egypt’s polluted water. The amount of untreated or partially treated industrials that enter the water stream is estimated about 4. 5 million tons every year. The high rates of pollution are caused by different cities in Egypt like Cairo, Giza and kalyubia. The report also said that were 38 million Egyptians drinking from sewage polluted water. Recycling: Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects, it’s an alternative waste disposal that can save materials and help lower greenhouse emissions. Recycling is a global problem because most people and organizations don’t use it when it’s required. For example, statistics have shown that about 65% of Americans don’t use recycling. Some measures were introduced in 1967 and in 1976 to regulate solid wastes in Egypt, but no action was then taken regarding the regulation of hazardous wastes. However, steps are now being taken to move towards the introduction of multiple actions; there’s now the first national environmental action. Causes: Not using recycling: The top reason people said that they don’t recycle is because of local governments for not making recycling more available to them. Other people find it time taking, hard to do or even costs too much. Another reason why people don’t use recycling is not knowing what materials should be recycled and what should not. When a survey was made to determine how people recycle, the results were like this. Impacts of not using recycling: The earth recycles everything and reuses the material from dead plants and animals to feed new plant like. Humans should copy mother nature in its actions. Since the invention of plastic it has gotten everywhere, it has also formed large piles because it doesn’t decay, filling the oceans and harming marine life. Also the problem of not recycling has led to more greenhouse gases. Therefore, the temperature of the earth increases as well as global warming. Humans now represent the main contributors to the planet’s warming mostly from greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, exhaust from cars and much more.
Egypt’s grand challenges branch into other smaller problems that can be solved using various methods. One of those problems is the problem of housing which is very popular in Egypt. Housing: Egypt has faced a serious urban housing shortage. Housing in Egypt is a social good, responding to basic needs of the citizens. The welfare of the communities depends on the growth and improvement of the housing. It reflects the need to improve and increase the housing units to meet demand and enable economic growth. The housing ministry has estimated that 500,000 new homes need to be built every year for five years to keep pace with the expanding population and to address the estimated backlog of 3 million housing units. It also highlights the importance of public investment in the growth of the sector as a whole and the provision of housing to vulnerable and low-income groups. Causes: The price and the quality of the building units: Many people stand in the problem which is the money needed to complete building. So housing prices must be continually explored to ensure the ability to pay the cost housing without compromising key health and safety concerns. Now it is difficult to find a good building unit for the urban poor who are coming from other areas. Because the good materials are costing a very high price as building units, iron and cement. Migration to the urban areas: A lot of Egyptians migrate to the flood plain of Nile and the Nile delta. So there are 99% of the Egyptians concentrated in only 4% of Egypt. Most of it along the flood plain of the Nile and the Nile Delta. So there is only 1% of the population in 96% of the area. So, Although Cairo is considered as the largest city in Africa. Cairo has more than 10m person which causes slums and pollution.
Impacts: Crimes: The overall crime rate in Egypt is 64% higher than the national average. For every 100,000 people, there are 12. 75 daily crimes that occur in Egypt. In Egypt you have a 1 in 22 chance of becoming a victim of any crime. Because the increasing of the prices of the housing. So they build slums. Slums: More than 16 million people live in slums most of them are in the greater Cairo. Slums began to appear in Cairo in the 1950s for a lot of reasons, including internal migration of Egyptians seeking better living conditions, overcrowding and high birth rates. Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said that the number of slums in Egypt was more than 1000, with more than 300 of them in Greater Cairo. Slums in Egypt are completely under-exposed in urban planning and building control. So it causes a pollution. Pollution: Egypt has daily pollution problems. As air pollution, water pollution. There are several sources of water pollution.
As drainage of industrial waste water, pesticides and residues of chemical fertilizers from farming, Drainage of agricultural water, radioactive discharges and oil pollution. And several sources of air pollution. As Fuel combustion in cars, Harmful factories gases, some harmful paint materials. And Smoking. So it causes a lot of diseases like diabetes, Hepatitis C and skin disease. If the problem of housing is solved: Economically: Egypt will attract investment, because Investment go where there are a good housing. So there will be a lot of projects. So the Egyptians will work. So the economy of Egypt will rise. Socially: many houses will be built. Therefore, the percentage of crimes and slums will decrease. The difference between society’s layers will be reduced. Environmentally: Pollution in Egypt will be eliminated. Therefore, a lot of disease would be treated. Multiple forms of pollution like noise, air and water pollution will be reduced as well. If it’s not solved: Economically: Topics related to the problem: Recycling: Types of recycling: Recycling has many types that can be used to solve the problem of housing. Examples for those types are plastic recycling, wood recycling, glass recycling, metal recycling, bricks/inert waste recycling.
Plastic recycling: There are about 50 different groups of plastics, with hundreds of different varieties. Most types of plastic are recyclable. Because most plastics are non-degradable, they take a long time to break down, possibly up to hundreds of years - although no-one knows for certain as plastics haven't existed for long enough.
Metal recycling: All grades of metal can be recycled for future use. Before it is recycled, metals are sorted into ferrous and non-ferrous types. Ferrous metal includes Iron and Steel, non-ferrous includes aluminum, copper, stainless-steel, brass and lead to name but a few.
Wood recycling: we can recycle all types of uncontaminated timber. Grades include such items as timber pallets, timber boxes, floorboards, chipboard, fencing, plywood, furniture etc.
Glass recycling: There are a lot of types of glass which must be suitable for reprocessing. The general principle for glass recycling is, like the other categories, that the glass should be as clean and contaminant free as possible. Grades include such items as bottles, jars, windows, drinking glasses.
Bricks/Inert waste recycling: Hardcore rubble can be recycled into usable aggregates. These waste streams come to us on skip wagons from industrial and demolition sites, it is tipped and then crushed to produce various grades of aggregates to be reused on construction sites.
Benefits of recycling: If the problem of recycling is taken into consideration, it may have many benefits as it reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators. It conserves natural resources such as timber, water and minerals. It increases economic security by tapping a domestic source of materials. It prevents pollution by reducing the need to collect new raw materials saving energy.
