Egypt’s Health Ministry asks for increase in budget allocation for FY2019-20

BUDGET WATCH- Health Ministry follows Education Ministry’s lead in angling for better budget allocation: Health Minister Hala Zayed has asked the government to increase the budget allocation for the health sector to EGP 100 bn in the coming fiscal year, the local press reported. To implement the Universal Healthcare Act, the ministry requires an additional EGP 33 bn in the sector’s allocation in the state budget for FY2019-20, Zayed said. The ministry had apparently previously requested that the government earmark EGP 96 bn for healthcare during the next fiscal year, but the Finance Ministry has only approved EGP 73 bn. The news came after Education Minister Tarek Shawky earlier this week requested a higher budget.