Egypt’s volume of public spending on the health sector has increased by 70 percent said the minister of planning and economic development, compared to the previous three years amounting to 270 billion Egyptian pounds (14.6 billion USD). The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) budget generally ranges from 3.3 to 4.0% of the annual government budget and reached 15% of health financing in Egypt.
The increased budget has many implications for Universal Health Insurance introduced in 2019 that is still in the implementation stage. Apart from funds that MoHP directly collects from co-payments and user fees, donors are funded via grants and loans for vertical programs. All uninsured citizens are eligible to use MoHP curative services. They can also benefit from the Program for Treatment at the Expense of the State.
However, the primary healthcare financing source remains out of pocket expenditure, representing more than 60% of total health expenditure (THE). This is followed by government spending through the Ministry of Finance (MoF) which is around 37% of THE. MoF is the primary funding source for the MoHP. It funds nearly one-third of the total health spending in Egypt, It finances 93% of the MoHP activities and 72% of the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) healthcare activities1, another important healthcare service provider in the country.
1. Fasseeh, A., ElEzbawy, B., Adly, W. et al. Healthcare financing in Egypt: a systematic literature review.. J. Egypt. Public. Health. Assoc. 97, 1 (2022).
Source: Arab News
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Image credits: The Egypt Daily
