Health & Education
From The Report: Egypt 2014
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The largest country in the Arab world, Egypt has well-established medical facilities. However, the health sector faces significant challenges in caring for a rapidly growing population using a system hampered by structural weaknesses. In its 2014 constitution, the Egyptian government pledged to devote 3% of GDP to health care. With pressing matters of security and political stability facing the next government, health care workers are not anticipating radical reforms immediately. Yet the consensus is that reforms must come in the medium term to improve standards and services, reduce inefficiencies and inequality, and prepare the system for the pressures involved in dealing with a rapidly growing population. The education system in Egypt currently faces many challenges as it seeks to improve and better prepare the country’s young people to join the workforce. One of the biggest component groups of Egypt’s jobless are graduates, who account for 33% of the total. Optimism was sparked by the new constitution, which came into force in January 2014. Article 238 stipulates that education must receive expenditure to the value of at least 4% of GDP each year. Yet increasing funding cannot be the only solution; the reform of curricula, implementation of technology and improvement in teaching are all also urgent requirements.

This chapter contains interviews with Hamed Sherif, Chairman, Misr International Hospital and Mahmoud Abo El Nasr, Minister of Education.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

A rapidly rising population is placing strain on the system
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The largest country in the Arab world, Egypt has wellestablished medical facilities. However, the health sector faces significant challenges in caring for a rapidly growing population using a system beset by structural weaknesses, against a backdrop of political upheaval and economic insecurity. With public funds limited, an increasing role for the private sector looks likely, creating new opportunities for international participation. However, Egypt’s political and economic situation means that…

Analysis

Time to take cover: State and private insurance could reduce out-of-pocket expenditure
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The population of Egypt has tripled in the last 50 years, from 31m in 1964 to around 90m in 2014. This demographic pressure is just one of the challenges faced by a fragmented health care system, which still adheres to a free access approach in some sectors, despite Egypt having one of the MENA region’s highest proportions of out-of-pocket (OOP) payment for private medical treatment. Reforms to the health care system have been debated at the ministerial level for several years, but as a result…

Interview

OBG talks to Hamed Sherif, Chairman, Misr International Hospital
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Interview:Hamed Sherif What role does the private sector play in the provision of health care in Egypt? HAMED SHERIF: The private sector is a pillar of health care provision in Egypt, and it cannot be underestimated. Taking into account that the government does not have the capability nor the resources to support the entire health care system and meet citizens’ needs, the private sector can play a major and vital role in this regard. Its involvement in health care is inevitable and can be a solid starting point for the development of scenarios that empower the sector as a whole and meet reasonable standards for the end-beneficiaries.…

Overview

A lack of prioritisation has left its mark on the system
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A third of a million students graduated from Egyptian universities in the summer of 2014, products of the largest education sector in the MENA region. Most of them began their higher education courses in the autumn of 2010, and during their four years at university they have seen Egypt undergo a tumultuous period. The education system now faces many challenges as it seeks to improve and better prepare the country’s young people to join the workforce. One of the biggest component groups of Egypt’s…

Interview

OBG talks to Mahmoud Abo El Nasr, Minister of Education
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Interview:Mahmoud Abo El Nasr What are the first steps for rolling out the government’s education strategy for the 2014-30 period? MAHMOUD ABO EL NASR: The Strategic Plan for Pre-University Education 2014-30 aims at ensuring universal access to education for all Egyptian children, with a specific focus on poorer areas. The strategy will start by covering the 18.5m students who are enrolled for the academic year 2014/15. It consists of 15 programmes for different levels and conditions of…