The Health Committee at the House of Representatives is set to approve the method of calculating health allocations for fiscal year (FY) 2017 on the basis of gross domestic product (GDP) of FY 2016.
Magdy Morshed, head of the Health Committee at the House of Representatives, said that his committee is studying the method of calculating the health allocations of FY 2017 on the basis of 3% of GDP amounting to EGP 2.8tn.
The committee is to approve this method of calculation, as the allocations will rise to about EGP 61bn, Morshed said.
He added that Minister of Health Ahmed Emad El-Din believes that these allocations will be sufficient for the next fiscal year to carry out the development work for hospitals and the modernisation of services provided to citizens.
The financial allocations for the Ministry of Health before the amendment reached about EGP 48bn, with wages of about 60%, explained Morshed. It was agreed that the full increased amount of allocation will be for development operations, modernisation of services, and infrastructure.
Daily News Egypt revealed last week that the Ministry of Finance submitted an offer to the Plan and Budget Committee at the House of Representatives to calculate health, education, and scientific research allocations based on the GDP of the current FY amounting to EGP 2.8tn.
Ihab Al-Taher, secretary general of the Doctors Syndicate, said that if health allocations increased to EGP 61bn, the syndicate will contest the general draft budget at the Council of State for being unconstitutional.
Al-Taher told Daily News Egypt that the Ministry of Finance has to increase the resources of the state and increase health allocations, not circumvent the Constitution to escape from the required allocations.
The increase in allocations to EGP 61bn is not enough and will not achieve any development in the health system, Al-Taher explained. He pointed out that this increase is only due to the inflation of 2015.
He further added that even if the application of allocations increase based on the GDP of EGP 2.8tn, health allocations will become EGP 84bn in the budget. This is a very good rate even though it is still inadequate; however, it’s a good step towards launching developments to the health system in Egypt.
