Egypt’s Ministry of Health has earmarked EGP 7 billion to construct or renovate a total of 135 hospitals around the nation by 2017, Health Minister Ahmed Emad El Din told Al-Borsa on Sunday. According to Emad El Din, the ministry will inaugurate five hospitals “within days,” followed by another 20 within three months. The remaining hospitals will be completed over the coming 22 months, allowing the project to wrap up by the end of the coming year. The minister said that the 135-hospital plan will be funded through the ministry’s budget for the current and coming fiscal years, which totals approximately EGP 48 billion annually, with EGP 4.7 billion allocated for investments. Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said in December of last year that a recently approved USD 75 million loan from the World Bank will be invested in Egypt’s ailing health sector. However, Emad El Din did not clarify whether this loan was included in the budget for the hospital overhaul. According to 2013 statistics from the World Health Organization, health expenditure accounts for 5.1 percent of Egypt’s gross domestic product (GDP). However, Egypt’s Minister of Finance…
Egypt Health Ministry Earmarks EGP 7 Billion for Construction, Renovations of Hospitals
February 22, 2016
