Best Buddies International, a Miami-based nonprofit, has spent more than three decades building friendships between people with and without Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). As of May, it launched operations in Egypt, extending its network into North Africa’s most populous country, pushing the organization closer to its goal of reaching 100 nations worldwide. According to Anthony Shriver, the organization’s founder, “launching in Egypt is an exciting and meaningful step forward for our global movement” that would help build “a powerful platform for connection, dignity, and opportunity.” “At Best Buddies, we believe friendship is the foundation of inclusion,” he added. The program arrives in a country where reliable data on disability remain scarce and contested. Egypt’s 2022 census, conducted by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), found that 11 percent of Egyptians reported having a disability, roughly 12 million people, a figure statisticians said was likely inaccurate. Researchers attribute the wide information gap partly to stigma, led by stereotypes, society, and a fear of discrimination. A 2010 report by journalist Cam McGrath for Inter Press Service (IPS) found that many Egyptian families conceal their children’s disability even…
