Egypt invests $1.09bln in healthcare infrastructure

 Ahmed El-Sobky, President of Egypt’s General Authority for Healthcare (GAH), announced that the cost of healthcare infrastructure for the facilities in the first phase of the Universal Health Insurance System (UHIS) in the provinces exceeds EGP 34bn. He also noted that the cost bill of the Comprehensive Health Insurance project in the first phase exceeded EGP 53bn.

This announcement coincides with the fourth anniversary of the launch of the trial operation signal of the Comprehensive Health Insurance System from Port Said province in early July 2019 by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

El-Sobky indicated that the first phase of the Comprehensive Health Insurance System will include more than 350 facilities, including medical complexes, hospitals, centres, and family medicine units. These facilities will provide healthcare services at three levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The services will be available to citizens in the provinces of Port Said, Luxor, Ismailia, South Sinai, Aswan, and Suez.

He pointed out that the first phase includes the development of more than 50 hospitals and more than 300 family medicine centres and units in six provinces.

El-Sobky explained that the development and updating plans for healthcare facilities to join the Comprehensive Health Insurance System are intended to expand the healthcare services provided in hospitals, centres, and family medicine units.

This is to achieve the system’s goals. He pointed out that the system relies on developing family medicine centres and units, equipping them with medical devices and equipment to provide integrated primary healthcare. This will help to alleviate the pressure on secondary and tertiary healthcare in hospitals and enhance their ability to provide the service with the highest efficiency and quality.