The Committee for Defending the Citizens Right to Health (CDCRH) is calling for a protest against what they say is secrecy imposed on the new health insurance bill. They want a protest in front of the People's Assembly when the new parliamentary session begins next month. In its third national congress, which was held two days ago at the Journalist Syndicate, CDCRH members blasted the government over the new health insurance bill, saying it seeks to privatize the health sector and abandon the government's responsibility towards the poor. Participants demanded the Health Ministry not cut its budget while the global during the ongoing global epidemics. They also said that public health departments should not turn into for-profit holding companies and subsidiaries. People not enjoying health coverage should not be denied treatment at the state's cost while only granting them limited health insurance, CDCRH members said.
The committee members also rejected the idea that patients pay a third of the cost of medicines, medical tests and operations, saying this would prevent most citizens from receiving treatment. They also said that the government should establish a fair wage scale for doctors and medical staff. They circulated a statement during the conference that stresses the need to combat privatization of the health sector, threatening escalatory steps in this regard. Efforts to privatize the medical system reflect a convergence between the interests of Egyptian investors in the medical field and recommendations by international funding organizations, such as the World Bank. CDCRH members said that plans for privatization come within the framework of "wild" globalization and market economics that do not stop at applying privatization to basic services like health and education, which, they say, become a commodity for those who have money.¬¬¬ Translated from the Arabic Edition.
