Egypt's Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Comprehensive Health Insurance Authority, Dr. Mohamed Maait, reviewed a report on the outcomes of a delegation's visit from the French Development Agency (AFD) to the branches of the General Authority for Comprehensive Health Insurance in Ismailia, the Ismailia Medical Complex, and the Family Medicine Center in El Shohada. He directed continuous collaboration with international development partners to enhance the Egyptian model of comprehensive healthcare coverage. This aims to ensure the sustainability of management, financing systems, healthcare oversight, and services provided to citizens, as well as financial, social, and health protection systems for all segments of society, particularly the middle class, the vulnerable, and priority groups such as beneficiaries of the "Dignity and Solidarity" program, formal and informal labor forces. This aligns with presidential directives to increase healthcare spending, driving the gradual implementation of comprehensive health insurance nationwide.
The Minister, Chairman of the Comprehensive Health Insurance Authority, expressed appreciation for international support for Egyptian efforts to reform healthcare through the Comprehensive Health Insurance system, in line with the latest international standards. This includes the role of the AFD, the World Bank, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which positively contributed to advancing comprehensive health insurance implementation efforts. He highlighted the aim for a greater role for the private medical sector as a key partner in service provision and comprehensive health insurance management. This will be achieved through promising competitive opportunities for private medical institutions within the evolving comprehensive healthcare system, considering that the state does not monopolize healthcare provision. Instead, the Egyptian experience focuses on the right of citizens and their families to choose their healthcare providers, whether in the public or private sectors, or other accredited healthcare institutions, aiming to enhance citizen satisfaction rates.
Assistant Minister of Finance and Executive Director of the Comprehensive Health Insurance, Mai Farid, stated that a program was coordinated for the AFD delegation to visit the first phase governorates to observe the system's implementation progress. This included field visits to the Ismailia branch of the General Authority for Comprehensive Health Insurance, the Ismailia Medical Complex, and the Family Medicine Center in El Shohada, to assess the quality of services provided, the role of the General Authority for Comprehensive Health Insurance in managing and financing the system, and ensuring financial and social protection for targeted groups, including beneficiaries of the "Dignity and Solidarity" program, the vulnerable, formal and informal labor forces.
She noted that the system serves around 4.4 million citizens in six governorates, offering a medical list covering over 3,000 medical services provided to beneficiaries, including coverage for cancer treatment, organ transplantation, and prosthetics. The aim is to rapidly expand comprehensive health insurance coverage this year and in the following years to reach millions more Egyptians in new governorates incorporated into the system, emphasizing the completion of digital transformation to ensure the highest level of medical services satisfaction among beneficiaries.
Cecil Kupri, Regional Director of the AFD, praised Egypt's Comprehensive Health Insurance system for its significant development, reflecting the ability to achieve desired goals by providing quality healthcare services, ensuring sustainability, and expanding to other governorates according to the set timeline. She highlighted the international community's confidence in Egypt's ability to implement comprehensive health insurance with an advanced management and financing approach, reflected in long-term plans developed by the General Authority for Comprehensive Health Insurance.
