Finance Minister Mohamed Maait asserted on Wednesday that the country's new Universal Health Insurance System (UHIS) will implemented across all governorates, in line with presidential directives, in spite of the global economic challenges.
This would contribute to fulfilling the dream of Egyptians to obtain comprehensive health care for all family members in the "new republic,” the minister noted.
Maait, also head of the General Authority for the UHIS, said in a statement that the new system is now fully applied in the cities of Port Said and Luxor, adding that preparations are underway for the official launch in Ismailia after a successful pilot operation.
In January 2021, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi directed the government to complete Egypt’s Universal Health Insurance System (UHIS) nationwide in 10 years instead of the scheduled 15 years.
The six-phase healthcare scheme, which started experimentally in Port Said governorate in early 2018, was scheduled to cover Egypt by 2032, but, based on El-Sisi's instructions, the project will be now completed nationwide by 2027.
Governorates with the lowest-income citizens have been given priority in the programme’s schedule, with the capital Cairo relegated to the final phase.
The project will be supported by state-of-the-art automation technologies as part of the Digital Egypt strategy, a broader national plan targeting the digitisation of all government services countrywide.
The first phase of the system includes South Sinai, Aswan and Suez, while the second phase includes the governorates of Qena, the Red Sea and Marsa Matrouh, the minister noted.
Maait said that "the financial situation of the authority is strong," assuring that performance indexes during the fiscal year 2021/2022 reflect the ability to absorb global shocks.
There is a current study to expand the umbrella of the health insurance system to address as many needy people as possible, the minister said, noting that this comes as part of government efforts to boost social protections and ease the impact of the global economic challenges on citizens.