World Bank commits $530 million to supporting Egypt’s public healthcare system
The World Bank has announced a $530 million project to improve the Egyptian public healthcare system, targeting 45 million Egyptians, according to a World Bank press release issued Wednesday.
The five-year 'Transforming Egypt’s Healthcare System' project will focus on supporting family planning services through a $35 million intervention, scaling up Egypt’s "groundbreaking Hepatitis C program," and supporting the new Universal Health Insurance System.
The new project, to be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Population, will focus on screening 1 million units of blood every year, increasing screening of Hepatitis C to around 35 million people and treating around 1.5 million patients.
The project also aims at screening 20 million adults against “non-communicable diseases and risk factors.”
These services will cover 600 primary healthcare facilities and 27 hospitals in the nine governorates that are part of the first phase of the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Insurance System (Ismailia, Suez, North Sinai, South Sinai, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh).
The project aims at meeting the expected demand following the promulgation of the Comprehensive Health Insurance law in December last year.
The World Bank hailed Egypt’s Hepatitis C programme as a success for treating the poor.