Concerns over Egypt's new medicines pricing policy

A decision by the Egyptian Health Ministry to peg local medicine prices to those of international markets is causing concern, according to IRIN, a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"This is a catastrophic decision," Karima Al Hefnawy, a member of local non-governmental organization (NGO) the Independent Right to Health Committee, told IRIN. "Egypt is a low-income country, which means that linking local medicine prices with international ones will cause suffering to the poor," he stated.

Only about 30% of Egyptians have health insurance, according to a recent estimate by the NGO. Hitherto, medicine prices were set by the Ministry, sometimes at much lower prices than the manufacturing cost, leading some suppliers to go out of business.

Another local NGO, The Medical Association, says of the $10 billion spent on health last year, only about a third came from the government. The government has allocated $4 billion, or 4.8% of Egypt's total budget in fiscal year 2012-2013, to the health sector. This, experts say, means that individuals will continue to foot most of the health bill in the new fiscal year.