Healthcare in Egypt: Challenges, Reforms, and Future Investments

Updated 2/20/2024 8:00:00 AM

Egypt's healthcare system is a complex mix of public and private providers and financing agents.

Over the years, the country has taken several steps towards improving its population's health, including the implementation of health policies and increasing health spending.

However, there are still key challenges that affect the healthcare sector in Egypt, notably in terms of equity and health insurance.

To address these challenges, Egypt is currently reforming and restructuring its healthcare system to ensure broader insurance coverage and service affordability for all citizens.

Egypt's Healthcare Landscape

During the 12 years prior to 2022, the primary source of healthcare financing was out-of-pocket expenditure, representing more than 60% of total health expenditure. This was followed by government spending through the Ministry of Finance, accounting for around 37% of total health expenditure, according to an article published by Springer Nature in 2022.

“The Egyptian healthcare system is pluralistic, comprising a variety of healthcare providers from the public as well as the private sector,” Lamees El-Araby, Head of the International Economics Department at the Egyptian Chinese University, tells Arab Finance.

“The government ensures basic universal health coverage, and Egypt can attract a lot of investments in the healthcare sector as an investment destination with many advantageous prospects, including its geo-strategic location, land availability, solar and wind power capacity, and skilled human capital,” El-Araby says.

In 2021, the number of human physicians in the public sector totaled 100,742, while they were 30,138 in the private sector, as reported by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in its annual bulletin issued in June 2023 on Health Services Statistics and Treatment at State's Expense at Home and Abroad.

Thus, the population-to-physician ratio recorded 789 patients per physician. Meanwhile, the number of state-run hospitals was 664 and private hospitals were 1,145, with an average population of 56,418 patients per hospital.

Additionally, hospitals affiliated with the government carried out 780,357 operations in 2021, according to the CAPMAS’ Bulletin.

Meanwhile, the number of surgical operations in inpatient clinics in private sector hospitals totaled around 1.723 million internals and million externals.

Developing the Medical Care Sector

The healthcare sector in Egypt is facing the need to combat illnesses associated with poverty, low education levels, and emerging diseases linked to urban and modern lifestyles, a 2019 report by the Demographic and Health Survey Program (DHSP) highlighted. Therefore, the country needs to develop the sector and attract investments.

Accordingly, Egypt has been eager to increase spending on the healthcare sector in recent years.

In the 2023/2024 budget, allocations for the healthcare sector increased by EGP 13.3 billion, reaching EGP 111.2 billion, marking a growth rate of 14%, as announced by Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait in March 2023.

Moreover, the Egyptian government aims to allocate at least 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) to public health spending to provide better services and wider coverage, as outlined in the strategic directives of the Egyptian economy released by the Egyptian Cabinet.

The government further plans to expand health insurance coverage to encompass 100% of the population by 2030, compared to about 66% in 2022.

Manival Osama, a gynecologist, tells Arab Finance: “Health insurance has to be introduced across all governorates, and the steps for obtaining insurance services shall be facilitated. Also, personnel working in health insurance hospitals and clinics need to be developed by providing advanced training.”

The Path to the Future

Egypt aims to develop the healthcare sector in the upcoming years, planning to renovate and establish 3,100 health facilities, 100 hospitals, and 3,000 health units, by 2030.

In this regard, Osama expects Egypt to lead an advancing healthcare sector over the next years “by improving health conditions through early intervention and preventive coverage.”

Furthermore, Egypt is set to boost revenues from medical tourism. Last July, Ahmed El-Sobky, Chairman of the Health Care Authority and General Supervisor of the Comprehensive Health Insurance and Decent Life projects at the Ministry of Health and Population, estimated the global medical tourism market at $115 billion annually.

Egypt targets annual revenues of $11.5 billion from medical tourism, as the Ministry of Health stated in December 2023.

To boost revenues from Egypt's medical tourism, the country needs to "develop targeted marketing campaigns to reach potential international patients who can help raise awareness of the quality and affordability of healthcare services in Egypt,” Ahmed Fawzy Hussein, PhD Holder and Assistant Professor of Economics, explains to Arab Finance.

“Collaborating with tourism boards and leveraging digital marketing platforms can effectively promote medical tourism offerings," Hussein adds.

Moreover, the country needs to maintain high standards in healthcare services and obtain international certifications and accreditations, Hussein suggests.

"Continuously investing in healthcare infrastructure, including hospitals, specialized clinics, and medical facilities, is essential to meet the growing demand for medical tourism," he points out.

The Egyptian government encourages investments in the healthcare sector that can be obtained through regulatory reforms and infrastructure development, according to Hussein.

"Offering tax incentives and subsidies to investors can be an effective way to encourage investments. Providing tax breaks, discounts on land leases, or low-interest loans are some possible incentives to consider," Hussein notes.

Egypt's multi-layered healthcare system, integrating both the public and private sectors, has witnessed the enactment of policies and escalated spending.

Through amplifying investments in the healthcare system and developing the sector, the country can attract investments that guarantee an advanced future for the healthcare sector.

By Sarah Samir