Planning and Economic Development Minister Hala El Saeed agreed Saturday 22/05/2021 to increase the budget of the health ministry to supply advanced medical equipment by EGP 260 million.

The additional appropriation seeks to fulfill hospitals’ urgent needs in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic by boosting bed capacity with 1,000 ICU beds and supplying 500 additional ventilators.

In a press release, Saeed underlined the importance of upgrading the national healthcare system and improving the quality of healthcare services, noting that the fallout from the pandemic revealed the vital importance of an effective and resilient healthcare sector.

Saeed highlighted a 205 per cent increase in the total sum dedicated to the health ministry’s investments in the 2021/2022 plan, at EGP 47.5 billion, compared to last year’s plan.

Prominent among the health ministry’s initiatives under this year’s plan are the completion of 23 hospital projects and establishing 20 blood-plasma collection centers, along with a central strategic storage facility to achieve self-sufficiency of plasma-derived products, the minister pointed out.

Source: State Information Service Egypt