Egypt: Japanese agency lends expertise in universal health insurance
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Mar 2019
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been cooperating with Egypt on the latter’s universal health insurance scheme which is currently being implemented.
JICA, a governmental agency that coordinates official development assistance for the government of Japan, has organised seminars on universal health coverage in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population and the Health Insurance Organisation.
The third seminar in the series, held in early February in Cairo, aimed at knowledge sharing, with a focus on the financial aspect of the system, including revenue raising and pooling, as well as ways to minimise healthcare costs.
Mr Yoshifumi Omura, JICA’s chief representative in Egypt told Ahram Online that JICA has had serious discussions with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population on the next steps to take as Egypt is now in the implementation stage of the system after the new health insurance law was approved by parliament in December 2017.
The main challenge is the financing of the universal health system. Mr Omura said, “Even in Japan, there are limits to the budget, so we are always thinking about how the health insurance system can be effective.”
He added that JICA will invite Egyptian ministers to Japan to exchange knowledge, learn about the current situation in Japan and its experience in implementing universal health coverage, as well as discuss how Egypt can best implement the system. M