Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Ayman Ashour, announced that Egypt's university hospital system has undergone an unprecedented transformation in the 2024/25 fiscal year, driven by the state's prioritisation of healthcare development and its commitment to improving service quality for citizens. Ashour attributed the sector's progress to strong political backing, noting the government's ongoing efforts to modernise hospital operations through intensive training programmes and continuous investment in advanced medical technologies. These initiatives aim to enhance the skills of medical and nursing staff and ensure the delivery of high-quality care. He also emphasised the ministry's focus on expanding interdisciplinary specialisations and accelerating the digital transformation of university hospital services to improve efficiency and streamline patient access. According to the minister, the annual budget allocated to university hospitals has risen sharply from EGP 10bn in 2014 to EGP 28bn in 2023. The network now comprises 145 hospitals, including 52 specialised facilities covering a wide range of disciplines such as oncology, addiction and mental health treatment, women's health, geriatrics, toxicology, emergency care, gastroenterology, paediatrics, nephrology, ophthalmology, and various surgical fields including cardiac and vascular surgery. University hospitals now represent 30% of the total bed capacity in Egypt's public healthcare system and 50% of all intensive care unit (ICU) beds. This broad spectrum of services helps address diverse patient needs and strengthens the country's ability to deliver comprehensive, high-level healthcare. Ashour stated that university hospitals served nearly 25 million patients during the 2024/25 period, performing more than 620,440 surgical procedures across all specialities. Of these, 350,000 were complex operations requiring specialised expertise, including 220 robotic surgeries—40 of which were paediatric cases. The hospitals also delivered approximately 588,000 haemodialysis sessions. These services are supported by a total capacity of 34,618 hospital beds, including 5,254 intensive and intermediate care beds and 896 specialised neonatal incubators. "These achievements reflect the efficiency of Egypt's university hospitals and their commitment to providing the highest quality healthcare services to citizens," Ashour said. The minister highlighted that EGP 19bn has been allocated by the government to upgrade healthcare infrastructure across the university hospital system. This investment is funding 160 development projects, including the modernisation of 33 hospitals and the implementation of 127 service enhancement initiatives. One of the most prominent recent developments is the opening of the Liver Transplantation Centre at Mansoura University, now the largest of its kind in the Middle East and Africa, built at a cost of EGP 1bn. Major infrastructure investments include the EGP 2.4bn Suez University Hospital, which houses 17 clinics, 15 operating theatres, and 260 beds, in addition to specialised units for dialysis and critical care. At Ain Shams University, a comprehensive EGP 10bn expansion has been undertaken to increase the number of neonatal and intensive care beds. Further notable improvements include the introduction of a vascular catheterisation unit and advanced cardiac care facilities at Samouha University Hospital, as well as the launch of the Manchester Medical and Surgical Studies Building at Al-Mowasat Hospital, developed in partnership with the University of Manchester. Specialised units have also been established across five additional university hospitals, enhancing treatment options in areas such as paediatric ophthalmic surgery and audiology, thereby improving both capacity and service quality nationwide.
