The special parliamentary committees of health, education, scientific research, planning, and state budget will meet tomorrow to reach an agreement over the increase of budget allocations for three ministries in accordance with the Constitution before discussing the draft state budget on Sunday.
Sources in the health committee told Daily News Egypt that the health allocations for the next fiscal year (FY) 2016/2017 will be EGP 76bn, estimated at 3% of the total GDP for the current FY 2015/2016 which amounted to EGP 2.8tr.
According to the sources, the health committee rejected the inclusion of preventive medicine allocations for drinking water and sanitation estimated at EGP 11bn within the budget of the Ministry of Health.
They noted that the preventive medicine allocations are currently included within the Ministry of Health’s budget, adding that they will be transferred to the Ministry of Housing’s budget.
The health allocations in the draft budget for the next FY reached EGP 48.5bn and they will increase in accordance with the Constitution in favour of the development of health services, medical devices, and infrastructure.
The sources added that the expected decline in the next FY’s revenues has prevented the increase of health allocations to EGP 81bn, and the committee was instead presented with EGP 76bn.
The Health Committee was promised by the government to receive an addition EGP 5bn to the health insurance allocations, estimated at about EGP 7.8bn before the amendment, the sources said.
They pointed out that the EGP 5bn will be outside the Ministry of Health’s allocations, estimated at EGP 76bn. This sum was collected through the collective sales of medical devices and instruments, and it will be added to the comprehensive health insurance in the first year.
According to sources, despite the increase of health allocations to EGP 76bn, the allocations for treatment at the expense of the state have not been increased because of the low revenues.
Gamal Sheha, head of the Education Committee, said that his committee agreed to calculate the allocations to education and scientific research on the basis of the GDP of the current FY, estimated by the Ministry of Planning at EGP 2.8tr.
