The British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) has organised on Monday a Business Sohour in honour of H.E. Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Egyptian Minister of Health and Population, at Conrad Cairo Hotel.

In his opening remarks, Eng. Khaled Nosseir, BEBA Chairman, has welcomed the esteemed guests, notably Minister of Finance H.E Dr. Mohamed Maait; Minister of International Cooperation H.E Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat; British Ambassador to Egypt H.E. Gareth Bayley; Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Egypt H.E. Kim Yonghyon; Mr. Hossam Heiba, President of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI); and Mr. Mohanad Khaled, Chairman of the Egyptian British Chamber of Commerce.

H.E. Minister Abdel Ghaffar started the talk by saying that Egypt had witnessed some economic constraints, including the provision of hard currency and importing input materials and drug ingredients for pharmaceutical firms. However, now things are getting better and “we are getting everything right back to the normal track.”

Giving insights on investment opportunities in the Egyptian healthcare sector, the minister said the state is now encouraging more private-sector investments in various fields, and the health sector is certainly one of them given the country’s future needs to increase the number of beds and hospitals. The Egyptian healthcare sector, burgeoning with potential, offers a landscape rich in opportunities for investors, he stated. The pharmaceutical sector also needs to be even more encouraged and more focused and supported by the government.

For this, the Egyptian government has succeeded in passing a lot of legislations to provide more incentives for the private sector, he added. Among these incentives, H.E. Minister Abdel Ghaffar said the government would offer lands under concession agreements. This is in addition to providing incentives related to taxation and other opportunities such as providing lands in different areas across the country, including 21 pieces of lands that are very highly selected in very prime locations.

From the beginning of 2023, the ministry has been revising all the legislations within the healthcare system so that it can promote more engagement of the private sector, he noted.

There are two legislations ready to go to the parliament so that the ministry can add more investment opportunities and more facilities as regards taxations and providing lands under concession agreements for different areas dedicated either for greenfield or brownfield investments, he noted. This all with the presence of the political will under the directives of President H.E. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Moreover, he further said the Ministry of Health had already passed to the Cabinet a number of new legislations, which include incentives to encourage more investments.

The ministry is “decisive and committed” to cooperate with the private sector and work more with partners in different areas to ensure achieving more progress in the Universal Health Coverage Project, and adding at least 7000 beds within the next few years, he noted. This means the necessity of having more hospitals as well.

"Investments in healthcare are now more open than ever. With robust legislative support and a well-defined roadmap for growth, we are on track to incorporate 7000 additional beds and further enhancements into our healthcare infrastructure within the next three years." H.E. Minister Abdel Ghaffar said. “… certainly, the pharmaceutical industry is part of this target.”

Universal Health Coverage

As regards to the Universal Health Coverage System, the minister said it represents a great opportunity and proper timing for the private sector to contribute to the project. In the first phase, it covered five governorates and the second phase it covered another five governorates.

“The involvement of the private sector within the health sector is very important in order to promote an implementation of the universal health coverage to be the default of health services in Egypt even within the next 10 years.”

Health Initiatives

Asked about upcoming health initiatives following Egypt's big success story to eliminate hepatitis C virus, H.E. Minister Abdel Ghaffar mentioned that the ministry is tirelessly working on existing and new initiatives.

Egypt has become the first country to achieve the gold tier status on the path to elimination of hepatitis C as per the World Health Organization’s (WHO) criteria, H.E. Minister Abdel Ghaffar said. The WHO and the whole world have commended Egypt’s astounding journey from having one of the world’s highest rates of hepatitis C infection to being on the path to elimination in less than 10 years.

There is also the Egyptian Women's Health Initiative, designed to screen carcinoma of the breast at an early stage for 28 million women governorate-wide; pursue clinical examination; and provide free-of-charge treatment, he added.

“… we did a very good achievement … we scanned and we more than 20 million ladies from age 18 and above and we managed to discover early and treat early cases with the early diagnosis and that was also a great achievement.”

He further said around less than a year ago the ministry is working on an important initiative for the early diagnosis and treatment of prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers.

These four types of cancer will make big difference. “This is a new initiative that we have started achieving very good results in several cases.” the minister said.

Another important initiative will be dedicated for the autism and psychological or mental disorders.

“We should consider physical, mental, and social health. These are the three corners of health.”

Globally, the percentage of mental disorders is about around 25% of the population suffering from one or more mental disorders. In Egypt, according to the Ministry of Health’s recent research based on a survey conducted in 2017 survey, around 24% of the population suffering from mental disorders.

Moreover, there is also an initiative related to mandatory pre-marriage examination to detect some genetic disorders such as thalassemia, HIV, etc.