Egypt to increase FY 2023/24 healthcare spending by 15 percent

Egypt's Minister of Finance and Head of the General Authority for the Universal Health Insurance System (UHIS), Mohamed Maait, announced on Sunday that the government plans to raise healthcare spending by 15 percent in FY 2023/24.

Maait mentioned during a celebration for the issuance of Egypt's National Health Accounts Report that healthcare spending has already been raised by 10 percent during the first nine months of FY 2022/23.

The report examines healthcare spending in Egypt, including government and citizen contributions, as well as investments in the sector.

Egypt's Universal Health Insurance System

In November 2019, the UHIS's initial phase was launched in the governorates of Port Said, Ismailia, Suez, South Sinai, and North Sinai.

The healthcare scheme, consisting of six phases, began as an experiment in Port Said in early 2018 before expanding to Luxor and Ismailia. The lowest-income citizens were prioritized in the programme’s schedule, while Cairo was relegated to the final phase.

Last year, Maait stated that the UHIS provided over 3,000 diverse health services, including surgical procedures, medical analysis, radiology scans, tumour treatments, organ transplantations, and prosthetic devices, in line with the latest medical advancements.

Healthcare in FY 2023/24 Budget

The Egyptian healthcare sector is predicted to grow by 5.2 percent in FY 2023/24, according to Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said.

In May, El-Said disclosed that the FY 2023/24 budget will allocate approximately EGP 436 billion ($14.1 billion) in investments for educational, healthcare, and other social services, constituting 26.4 percent of total investments.