Egypt includes refugees and immigrants in the health care system – Dailynewsegypt
Head of Egypt’s Health Care Authority Ahmed Al-Sobki, the General Supervisor of the Comprehensive Health Insurance and Decent Life projects at the Ministry of Health and Population, discussed ways of joint cooperation with Carlos Oliver Cruz, the Head of the Mission of the International Organization for Migration in Egypt (IOM).
During the meeting on Saturday, it was agreed in principle to sign a memorandum of understanding between the Authority and IOM, in the areas of training medical service providers and treating refugees and immigrants within the Health Care Authority’s medical tourism program under the brand slogan “We take care of you in Egypt.”
The head of the Health Care Authority said that cooperation is scheduled to be activated in the governorates of Upper Egypt, Aswan and Luxor, as they are the governorates that include many immigrants, and in particular Aswan Governorate, where the percentage of non-Egyptians exceeds the percentage of Egyptians, pointing out that cooperation between the two sides will extend to include the Canal governorates, and the rest of the governorates of the republic, in line with the phased sequence of implementing the comprehensive health insurance system.
For his part, the head of the International Organization for Migration’s mission in Egypt pointed out the importance of fruitful cooperation with the Health Care Authority, which contributes to health and psychological support for refugees and immigrants, stressing the organization’s readiness for further cooperation with the Authority due to the qualitative leap it has provided in the level of health services provided to citizens in the governorates of the first stage, looking forward to opening broader horizons for cooperation between the Authority and the organization.
During the meeting, the qualitative leap that occurred in the Egyptian health system was reviewed, most notably the comprehensive health insurance project, as the Health Care Authority is the main state arm in controlling and organizing the provision of comprehensive health insurance system services.
The patient’s journey within the facility was also reviewed, whether for Egyptian patients who are beneficiaries of comprehensive health insurance or non-Egyptians, and the possibility of including immigrants in obtaining medical services through the Authority’s health facilities and under the umbrella of the Health Care Authority’s medical tourism program was discussed.
Al-Sobki invited the organization’s delegation to tour the authority’s facilities to see the global equipment of the facilities and the mechanisms of digitization and governance within the facilities, pointing out that Egypt has two facilities that have been accredited by the International Quality Committee (JCI), which are the Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital in South Sinai, and the Ismailia Medical Complex in Ismailia.