CAIRO – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar participated via video conference in a joint ministerial meeting held by the African Union Commission’s Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (HHS) to enhance cooperation among member states and scale up health financing in the continent.
In his remarks, Abdel Ghaffar said the meeting comes in line with the Addis Ababa Declaration and the principle of shared responsibility.
He noted that the continent is facing a critical moment that demands decisive action to address a sharp 70% decline in official development assistance, from 80 billion dollars in 2021 to 24 billion dollars projected for 2025, coupled with rising debt burdens, inflationary pressures and recurrent health emergencies.
He cautioned that failure to act could reverse two decades of progress, lead to a surge in preventable deaths, and push an estimated 39 million Africans into poverty by 2030 due to catastrophic out-of-pocket health spending.
The minister commended the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and its three-pillar strategy to advance health sovereignty: mobilizing domestic resources, adopting innovative financing tools (including solidarity levies and health taxes), and leveraging blended finance to engage the private sector in infrastructure development, local manufacturing and digital transformation.
He underlined that good governance, transparent procurement and strong digital systems are essential to ensuring the efficient use of every health dollar.
Abdel Ghaffar also highlighted Egypt’s successful experience despite global economic pressures.
He noted that Egypt’s health budget has quadrupled over the past decade to reach EGP 1 trillion in 2024, with allocations rising by 30.4% in the 2023/2024 budget.
He pointed to the rollout of the Universal Health Insurance System (UHIS) since 2019 and 15 presidential health initiatives that have delivered 260 million services through more than 3,500 primary care units.
He added that investment in preventive care yields substantial returns, with every dollar spent on immunization saving between 16 to 44 dollars, and nutrition interventions generating up to 23 dollars.
Egypt’s approach, he noted, combines strengthened public-sector capabilities with expanded partnerships with the private sector.
The minister concluded with three key messages aligned with the Africa CDC framework: domestic commitment cannot be substituted, reform must be comprehensive, and partnerships significantly multiply impact.
Abdel Ghaffar reaffirmed Egypt’s full readiness to work with African nations through the African Union and Africa CDC to advance health sovereignty, equity and resilience for all Africans.
