Egypt's Health Minister Hala Zayed has spoken about the practical steps taken by the country to provide and fund comprehensive health services, explaining that the new health insurance plan is due to start in Port Said on Monday. Zayed is currently visiting Osaka as part of an official delegation to Japan G20 meetings. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the sidelines of the G20 meetings, the minister told reporters, noting that the WHO supports Egyptian steps in this regard. The WHO also backs Egypt's initiative to eliminate the Hepatitis C virus, the minister added. Zayed said that Sisi's initiatives for Africa have been welcomed by all countries, as well as international organisations. Egypt's older health insurance system, which dates to the 1960s, has been criticised as substandard. The new healthcare system aims to overcome the shortcomings of the old one, according to observers. President Sisi introduced the universal healthcare system a year ago in a speech to the sixth National Youth Conference at Cairo University. The first phase of implementing Egypt's new universal healthcare system will roll out on 1 July in Port Said and will cover all Egyptian governorates by 2032. Introducing the new system last year, Egypt's presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady that that the first phase includes the elimination of patient waiting lists for surgery and critical medical interventions within six months, providing the needed stocks of infant formula and vaccines, and finishing the comprehensive survey and treatment of the Hepatitis C virus among Egyptian citizens. Source: MENA & Ahram Online
