Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said that the constitutional entitlement of the health sector has been fulfilled in the new budget, despite the unprecedented pressures imposed by the current global challenges on the economies of various countries, including Egypt. The allocations for the health sector in the next fiscal year amounted to EGP 397bn, an increase of 30.4%.
Maait added, in a statement on Wednesday, that the health sector is one of the top presidential priorities. He noted that financial funds have been increased to provide medicines, medical supplies, and raw materials for hospitals affiliated with the Ministry, increasing the cost of treatment at the expense of support directed to health insurance programs for various groups and segments of society and health insurance for those who need it.
He stressed the government’s keenness on expanding the health care initiatives adopted by the Ministry of Health and Population, including the presidential initiative for model hospitals, the presidential initiative to support investment in health service providers, the initiative to detect and treat kidney failure, the presidential initiative for self-sufficiency in plasma derivatives, and the early detection initiatives for newborn diseases.
Maait added that the government will continue to provide all possible means of support to the health sector, and improve the financial conditions of workers, doctors and nursing staff. He pointed out that within the last package to improve workers’ wages, the allowance categories for medical professions have been increased by EGP 400 to 475, so that the categories granted range from EGP 1,100 to 1,700 for doctors and nursing staff, in addition, the categories of night and overnight shifts for members of the medical profession were doubled, along with the emergency incentive granted to doctors and nursing staff who work in emergency departments.
