Egypt : Complete Profile - What is GIS - World Health Organization

Health Systems Profile- Egypt Regional Health Systems Observatory- EMRO
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Egypt is going through a demographic and epidemiological transition that is affecting
both the size and health status of the population. The population growth rate has
fluctuated from a low of 1.92% a year during 1966–1967, to 2.75% annually during
1976–1986, later declining to 2% a year during 1980–1993 and 2.1% annually in 2001.
Changes in fertility and mortality rates have been the major source of population growth
in Egypt.
The population pyramid has a wide base with children aged under 15 representing 37%
of the population, reflecting relatively high fertility in recent years. The proportion of
children aged under 10 years is smaller than the proportion aged 10–14 years. The rate
decreased from 80 in 1988 to 69 in 2000, so the proportion of productive group aged
15–64 years has increased. The average age of the population has risen, with a life
expectancy from birth of 65.5 years for males in 1996 to 69.2 years in 2006. It is higher
for women than for men (69.2 and 73.6 years, respectively).
Egypt is a lower-middle-income country with a per capita gross national product (GNP)
that doubled between the years 1993 and 1999, from US $600 to $1200 (DHS, 2000).
The Egyptian economy has witnessed a turnaround in growth performance following a
period of economic slow-down that started in 1986. The adoption of the open door
policy in 1975 afforded the Egyptian economy a decade of rapid economic growth,
supported by large inflows of foreign assistance, workers’ remittances, and oil and
tourism revenues. The drop in oil prices in 1986 signaled the end of a decade of
economic boost, underscoring the volatility of Egypt’s key revenues sources and the
constraints of an inward-oriented growth strategy.
With the success of the stabilization program in achieving its objectives, Egypt has been
successful in reversing the slow growth rates that characterized the period 1991–1995.
Real GDP grew annually at an average of 3.8% during 1993–1996 and at an average of
6% during 1996–1998. Inflation has been brought down from a peak of 21% in 1992 to
7% in 1996 and 3.6% by 2000 (UNDP, 2000).
While public expenditure on health in terms of budget share appears to be low in Egypt,
overall spending at 3.7% of GDP is also low, when compared to other comparable
income countries. The Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) budget, as part of the
entire Government budget, increased from 2.2% in 1995/1996 to 3.3% in 2000/2001
and the MOHP expenditure per capita increased from LE26.8 in 1996 to LE56.7 in 2001.
The health financing system in Egypt today manifests significant systemic inefficiencies
and inequities that severely limit the effectiveness of the health system as a whole. Any
attempts to expand the scope of services or increase the revenues and expenditures on
health care without first addressing these systemic bottlenecks in the health financing
system will result in further exacerbating the inefficiencies and inequities in the system.
The existing system of health financing mechanisms in place today, whether it is
through the general revenues Ministry of Finance or the Health Insurance Organization
system or through private spending, establishes a regressive pattern of resource
mobilization and resource allocation. Inequities are evident across many dimensions, in
terms of income levels, gender, geographical distribution (rural and urban, and by
governorate levels), and health outcomes.
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