President El-Sisi Meets the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health and Population
Yasterday, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Prime Minister, Dr. Moustafa Madbouly, and Deputy Prime Minister for Human Development and Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar.
Spokesman for the Presidency, Ambassador Ahmed Fahmy, stated that the President was briefed on the key aspects of the National Project for Human Development “A New Beginning for Building Humans”. The project aims to enhance investment in human capital through a comprehensive action program, targeting human development and reinforcing the Egyptian identity. This includes numerous initiatives in the fields of health, education, culture, sports, and job creation. The project shall be implemented in an integrated manner among all state entities, civil society, and the private sector, with the aim of ensuring that all segments of society, of all ages, benefit from state resources fairly and effectively, thereby improving the quality of life for Egyptian citizens in all governorates of the republic.
President El-Sisi gave directives to complete the executive plans for the initiative’s objectives, emphasizing that human capital is Egypt’s true wealth that must be nurtured and invested in. The President stressed the need to enhance coordination and integration efforts among all state entities in different regions across the country to achieve the initiative’s targets, so as to ensure that citizens reap its positive benefits as soon as possible.
The meeting also discussed developments in the health sector, including the development of Nasser Institute (Nile Medical City), the project to establish central laboratories in Badr City, and the development of Dar El Salam Oncology Center in cooperation with the Gustave Roussy Institute to become a regional center of excellence. The meeting also followed-up on the implementation status of the comprehensive health insurance system. The President instructed the speedy completion of the construction and development of 30 hospitals and 500 medical units and centers in the governorates of the second phase of the comprehensive health insurance, including Damietta, Minya, Kafr El-Sheikh, North Sinai, and Matrouh.
During the meeting, Dr. Abdel Ghaffar reviewed progress in studies on the New Capital Medical City project, which aims to achieve a signifiant leap in the level of medical services in Egypt and the region through advanced methods and the reliance on AI technologies and its huge absorption capacity. This is in addition to its most important assets, namely the high-level medical and human capabilities.
The meeting also touched on the government’s efforts to boost investment in the health sector and provide facilities for investors through various incentive packages for investment and partnerships with the private sector. The government is also studying the implementation of incentive regulations to ensure the development of existing and new facilities as well as harmony between the comprehensive health insurance system and the private sector so as to provide the best healthcare services to Egyptian citizens and expand medical services across the republic.
The meeting also addressed the government’s efforts to localize the pharmaceutical industry and encourage investment in the production of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, particularly in light of the ongoing international crises threatening supply chains. These efforts aim to ensure the constant supply of high-quality medicines at fair prices to meet the needs of Egyptian citizens.
President El-Sisi was briefed on the latest developments in the presidential initiative for public health, the initiative to eliminate waiting lists, and the presidential initiatives in the field of mental health. The President gave directives to expand mental health facilities and to support state-funded treatment systems. This is in addition to starting the construction of “Sakina” Psychiatric Hospital and Addiction Treatment in New Alamein City, the rapid development of the Khanka Psychiatric Hospital in Qalyubia Governorate, and the establishment of medical centers for extended care for patients, the elderly, and people with special needs.
As part of his commitment to expanding social protection programs, the President instructed the government to include 8.5 million beneficiaries from Takaful and Karama and irregular workers in the construction and building sectors under the health insurance umbrella, at an annual cost of 10 billion Egyptian pounds, while studying the possibility of including more categories of irregular workers in the next phase.
