This commentary sheds the light on the current health equity landscape in Egypt. It addresses equity issues relating to affordability, access, availability, utilization of health services and implications on health outcomes.
On the policy level, Egypt has demonstrated commitment to this agenda item on several fronts. In addition to adopting these international frameworks, Egypt has included health in its Sustainable Development Strategy, Vision 2030, with targets related to availability and financial coverage of services (Government of Egypt, 2014). Moreover, in 2018, Egypt adopted a Universal Health Insurance law (UHI) aiming to cover all Egyptians with adequate financial protection (Mathauer et al., 2019).
Mandatory contributions, proportional to individuals’ income, are estimated to account for almost 50% of total UHI revenues, while the share of general budget allocations to subsidize the contributions of poor and vulnerable populations (around one third of the population) is estimated at around 22% of UHI revenues.
The author says that Egypt faces varying health inequity challenges and has long-term improvement goals with the rollout of the UHI by 2032. Short- and medium-term actions are needed to address health inequity in Egypt. The pandemic provides Egypt with an opportunity to streamline reforms and locate and strengthen weak spots in its health system.
To know more, read the full article originally published in Alternative Policy Solutions
Have anything to say about Egypt’s social health protection and universal health coverage? Please let us know in the comments section below.
Image: Pexels
