Egyptian citizens will be entitled to receive medical treatment at private sector facilities with costs covered by the state under the Universal Health Insurance system, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Tuesday during the inauguration of the New Giza University (NGU) Hospital.

Madbouly stated that the government is taking serious steps to integrate both state and private hospitals into the scheme. “It will be the right of the Egyptian citizen to receive service anywhere, including the private sector, because the system is the one that will bear the costs of their treatment,” Madbouly said.

The Prime Minister emphasised that health and education represent the government’s “absolute priority.” He noted that his field visits to hospitals, health centres, and educational institutions serve as a message regarding the state’s commitment to these sectors under the directives of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The new hospital is a “giant medical edifice” and serves as a model for private sector participation in the national education and health systems, Madbouly added. He was joined at the ceremony by former Prime Ministers Ibrahim Mahlab and Ahmed Nazif, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and Deputy Prime Minister for Human Development and Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar.

Ibrahim Mahlab, Chairman of the NGU Board of Trustees, stated that the university was established with a vision based on quality, excellence, and international standards while maintaining national identity and community service.

The hospital project dates back to Presidential Decree No. 93 of 2010, which established NGU in academic partnership with Johns Hopkins University. Ahmed Sameh Farid, NGU President and former Minister of Health, said the American partner required the establishment of a university hospital before the medical school could begin admitting its annual quota of 100 students.

The facility, located within the New Giza project on the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, has a capacity of 138 beds and sits on approximately 6.5 acres. The total built-up area is 22,230 square metres across five floors. 

According to technical details provided by Farid:

  • The lower ground floor(5,852 square metres) houses 17 outpatient clinics, a dialysis unit with eight chairs, and a lithotripsy department.
  • The first floor(4,980 square metres) includes 60 beds and a neonatal intensive care unit with 10 incubators.
  • The second floor(4,932 square metres) contains 35 inpatient beds, seven operating rooms, a cardiac catheterisation unit, and intensive care units with a combined capacity of 33 beds.

Farid also noted that the university previously developed the 60-bed Giza New Hospital in Sayeda Nafisa, which provides free services to the community and serves as a training site for students.

Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Mohamed Ayman Ashour said the opening brings the total number of university hospitals in Egypt to 146. Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar added that the facility supports ministry efforts to expand health infrastructure and localise modern technology across all governorates.

Following his speech, Madbouly cut the ribbon to officially open the hospital and conducted an inspection of its departments and medical equipment.

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