Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Monday called for upgrading the mechanisms and performance of basic health care units including through providing all such units with all necessary medicines and equipment and dedicating packages to medical crews operating these units.
The president’s directives containing this call came as he conferred on Monday with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli, Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar and Presidential Advisor for Health and Prevention Affairs Mohamed Awad Taj El-Din, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassma Radi said.
During the meeting, the president also gave directives for the addition of specialised clinics to the services of basic care units nationwide in a way that helps these units provide health services to young people who are about to get married and to patients with chronic diseases, in addition to caring for the elderly.
The president also called for action to activate emergency services round the clock in some basic care units as well as studying the provision of home services for the elderly and people with special needs, Spokesman Radi said.
In this context, the president was briefed on the mechanisms for developing the system for providing health services at basic care units, including the units operating within the framework of the “Decent Life” initiative, with the aim of increasing operational rates, raising their structural efficiency, and supporting the services provided therein.
In his briefing, Minister Abdel-Ghaffar also outlined the efforts under way to improve family health standards and enhance reproductive health and family planning programmes.
In this regard, the president called for convening an annual conference be held with the participation of all experts concerned for a consideration of health conditions nationwide and for looking into the position of the various services and relevant initiatives, the spokesman said.
This comes in addition to contributing to the health awareness process, especially with regard to providing family planning services, and spreading community awareness of the importance of the population issue and its impact on the health of the mother, child and family through reproductive health.
In the same context, the president gave directives for the arrangement of integrated action plans, including the launch of a “Knock on Doors” campaign, to ensure the provision of reproductive health services and the benefit of all groups in the governorates, villages and hamlets, in order to achieve the largest possible coverage of these services.
The president was also briefed on the executive position of the national projects in the health sector, the completion rates, and the time frames for the completion of each project.
In this connection, President Sisi emphasised the necessity of abidance by the timelines for the completion of these projects and work to remove any obstacles that impede the speed of completion, especially including the project to develop the Nasser Institute into an Integrated Nile Medical City.
The president also highlighted the importance of action to increase investment rates in the fields of healthcare in accordance with international standards for providing health services and expanding aspects of partnership with the private sector, which leads to improving the quality of health services provided to citizens in accordance with international health standards, Spokesman Radi said.
The president was also briefed on developments in the executive position of the Medical City in the New Administrative Capital and its new hospital with a capacity of 300 beds, in addition to efforts to upgrade the central laboratories department in Badr City and the public ambulance facility services.
