The WHO country office in Egypt has released a new video about the comprehensive social health insurance in Egypt in which Dr Wagida Anwar, Professor of Public Health at Ain Shams University and a member of the National committee for the preparation of the comprehensive Social Health Insurance (SHI) law, answered some questions about the new law in Egypt.
Dr Wagida, declared that the new law has been approved by the Egyptian President and confirmed that it will be first implemented in 5 governorates starting with Port Said and then across the country within the coming years.
Dr Wagida said that the new system will be funded through diverse sources of funding, such as contributions from Egyptian citizens, general government allocations, tobacco taxes and tolls on highways nationwide.
The new law will end the high cost of medical services and provide access to people to needed health services when and where they need it without suffering financial hardship.
The WHO country office Egypt supports the Government in the development and implementation of the SHI law under the umbrella of health system strengthening towards universal health coverage.
WHO provides technical support to the reform process through building capacity and knowledge of stakeholders from the Ministry of Health and Population and beyond, with convening expertise from the different levels of the WHO. WHO is mandated to support Egypt in its journey towards universal health coverage and is willing to further expand its technical support to address current and upcoming challenges to ensure making UHC a reality.
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Social health insurance in Egypt