Egypt witnessed an increase in health sector expenditures by about 14.7 percent, mainly directed to finance medical requirements to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic, and increased allocations for health insurance during first half (H1) of fiscal year (FY) 2020/21, according to Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance. The minister added that these expenditures included funding to continue supporting health initiatives such as the "100 Million Health" initiative to eradicate Hepatitis C virus in the country, and another initiative to eliminate patient waiting lists. He stated that these funds also included raising the efficiency of hospitals, providing medicines, vaccines, and infant formula, and providing medical supplies and devices. Public expenditures also increased during the period from July to December 2020 to 681.2 billion Egyptian pounds, compared to 621.6 billion pounds over the same period of the previous year, with an annual increase of 9.6 percent, according to the minister. The minister pointed out that H1 of FY 2020/21 also witnessed an increase in education allocations by 7.4 percent, and an increase in social protection allocations by 35.8 percent.
