How is Egypt moving the health sector towards sustainable development?
How is Egypt moving the health sector towards sustainable development?
At a time when the governments of countries are searching for a true compass that will lead their societies towards a sustainable future, Egypt’s efforts stand out as a living example of integrated institutional work to achieve sustainable development, and this comes within the framework of broad government plans and strategic initiatives led by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
In this article,Earth Guardswill review the features of the Egyptian state’s movement with its various agencies, starting with ambitious presidential initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life, through projects to develop the health and education sectors, and reaching digital transformation plans that seek to establish transparency and justice in the provision of services; So keep reading.
Humans are the focus of sustainable development
In a move that reflects the state’s deep belief in the importance of the human being as the basic pillar of sustainable development, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi reviewed on Wednesday, May 14, 2025the axes of the work of the Ministerial Group for Human Development, which includes the steps for implementing the national project for human development. This came during his meeting with Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, “Prime Minister,” and Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, “Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health.”
Within the framework of a comprehensive strategic vision to promote social justice and equal opportunities in accessing basic services, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stressed the importance of establishing 300 integrated centers for human development in various governorates, in addition to expanding the number of nurseries designated for children under the age of six.
This trend aims to improve the quality of early education, ensuring the upbringing of generations capable of innovation and competition from their early years, and enhancing their readiness to integrate into the future labor market. These centers represent a pivotal meeting point between human development and economic development, through the integrated programs they provide to qualify children and youth, in line with the goals of sustainable development and Egypt’s Vision 2030.
The state’s efforts within the framework of the “Bedaya” initiative
One of the most prominent topics of the ministerial meeting was Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar’s presentation of the National Population and Development Strategy within the framework of the “Bedaya” presidential initiative, which aims to improve population characteristics, by reducing rates of stunting, obesity, and anemia among children, as part of the state’s efforts to achieve sustainable development. Perhaps what is noteworthy is that the annual population increase rate witnessed a noticeable decline during the year 2025 to reach 1.34% compared to 1.4% in 2024, according to what was announced by the official spokesman for the Presidency of the Republic, Ambassador Mohamed El-Shenawy.
This decline bears strong indications of the effectiveness of government policies in raising awareness and family planning, which enhances the state’s ability to provide quality services to every citizen. These efforts are reflected in a series of national health projects that include developing and establishing 20 hospitals in 11 governorates, at an estimated cost of 11.7 billion pounds, and adding more than 2,600 beds, including 458 intensive care beds, 442 nurseries, and 1,749 inpatient beds, in addition to 542 residential beds. A kidney dialysis machine and 95 operating rooms.
These huge investments in the health sector, which were funded from the state’s general budget, clearly embody Egypt’s commitment to achieving comprehensive health coverage, which is one of the basic pillars of sustainable development, and the benefit of these projects is not limited to serving patients only, but rather contributes to providing job opportunities and improving the quality of life.
Improving health to achieve sustainable development
One of the most prominent things that was reviewed in the meeting was the implementation plan for the second phase of the comprehensive health insurance system, which includes the governorates of Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh, Minya, Matrouh, and North Sinai. The plan includes the establishment of 534 primary care units and centers. During the meeting, President Sisi stressed the importance of adhering to timetables and quality implementation.
This ambitious plan – which requires an estimated investment of 115 billion pounds – reflects the extent of the Egyptian government’s seriousness in establishing a comprehensive health system that guarantees the citizen’s right to adequate treatment, and is consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal (3) “good health and well-being,” and is also consistent with Egypt’s Vision 2030.
Digitization of Health
As part of the efforts aimed at modernizing the health sector, the Minister of Health reviewed a comprehensive plan to develop an integrated digital system, which is considered a basic pillar for achieving the goals of Egypt’s Vision 2030. This plan includes creating electronic health records, employing artificial intelligence techniques, and launching a national platform for exchanging health information, in addition to expanding the horizons of international cooperation to ensure the sustainability of digital transformation in the field of health.
This integration between technology and the health sector represents a strategic step towards building a system that is more flexible and capable of responding to crises, and it is a pivotal lesson that the world has learned from the Covid-19 pandemic. The benefits of digitization go beyond merely facilitating access to services, to include increasing performance efficiency, reducing waste of resources, and enhancing transparency, which makes it an important factor in building health systems capable of supporting sustainable development in the long term.
National health initiatives
Within the framework of the state’s commitment to promoting health justice and expanding the umbrella of care, a package of presidential initiatives concerned with public health was reviewed, targeting all age groups from birth to the age of 65 years. These initiatives include 15 preventive and curative programs, and provided more than 234 million health services through 3,527 health units spread throughout the Republic. Which reflects the expansion of health coverage.
In the same context, the presentation addressed the results of the initiative to end waiting lists, which has succeeded in treating more than 2.69 million citizens since its launch in July 2018, at a cost exceeding 24.7 billion pounds, and more than 2.1 million citizens were treated at state expense during the year 2025, at a cost amounting to 23.2 billion pounds.
Towards localization of the pharmaceutical industry
Among the important files discussed at the meeting were efforts to localize the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, as President Sisi stressed the necessity of providing facilities to attract investments in this vital sector. Because it represents a strategic priority to achieve self-sufficiency, meet the needs of the local market, and enhance Egyptian exports to regional and global markets, and this trend comes within the framework of a broader vision that aims to consolidate the concept of health sovereignty as one of the pillars of sustainable development.
Based on the fact that industry development is inseparable from human development, the President’s directives came on the need to improve the conditions of workers in the health sector, with a focus on developing their capabilities through advanced training programs that include the latest technology, including applications of artificial intelligence, in a step that reflects an awareness of the importance of building trained health personnel capable of interacting with smart systems, in a way that enhances the efficiency of the health system and its ability to keep pace with global developments, and achieve professional sustainability in the long term.
This link between industry and human resources is an affirmation of the state’s adoption of an integrated development vision that intersects with the goals of sustainable development, especially Goal (9), which focuses on building infrastructure, enhancing local manufacturing, and encouraging innovation, which is clearly embodied in health and economic policies that aim to advance vital sectors, by activating the tools of science and technology, and expanding the scope of local and international partnerships.
From this standpoint,Earth Guards believes that what was proposed during the meeting reflects a serious vision for sustainable development, which makes the human being the center of every development process. It also appreciates the state’s efforts in localizing the pharmaceutical industry and upgrading human resources, and calls for continued investment in capacity building and human empowerment, as it is the best way to achieve Sustainability.
