In Egypt’s public hospitals, doctors are not only fighting diseases—they are battling daily pressures that exceed their limits, and exhaustion that threatens their lives. They work long hours without breaks, in environments lacking the most basic occupational safety conditions, pushing hundreds of them to resign or consider emigration. In some cases, the suffering ends in death.
Recently, eight female doctors from the obstetrics and gynecology department at Qasr Al-Ainy Hospital resigned in protest against harsh working conditions. In another incident, a female doctor died during her shift after working for long hours without food or rest. Initial estimates indicate that the death was caused by low blood pressure due to exhaustion. These incidents reopened the file of the doctors’ crisis and raised once again the difficult question: Where is Egypt’s healthcare system heading?
Egypt has witnessed a significant rise in the rate of doctor resignations from public sector jobs between 2020 and 2025, with total resignations exceeding 21,000 in seven years. In 2022 alone, 4,261 resignations were recorded—an average of 13.5 resignations per day. Between 2019 and March 2022, the number of resignations reached 11,536, including 934 in the early months of 2022. The wave of resignations continued to grow, with over 4,300 resignations recorded in 2023. In 2025, Alexandria University announced 117 vacant positions due to mass resignations, with a daily resignation rate reaching 12 doctors.
Death on Duty and Mass Resignations
On August 8 of this year, Dr. Salma Mohamed Habeish, an intern doctor at Qasr Al-Ainy Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, died while performing her professional duties due to acute circulatory collapse after working two consecutive shifts without food or adequate rest. Her death sparked widespread sorrow and controversy over doctors’ safety. While Cairo University denied that the death was related to work pressure—stating that she was completing her internship coming from Misr University for Science and Technology—and security investigations confirmed no criminal suspicion, observers and doctors affirmed that “severe exhaustion” was a primary cause of death. Colleagues testified to “hard work without rest,” alongside calls to improve working conditions to prevent similar incidents.
The obstetrics and gynecology department at Tanta University Hospital also witnessed a major crisis earlier this month when eight resident female doctors submitted mass resignations in protest against harsh working conditions—including long working hours reaching 12 hours per day, low wages, and intense psychological and physical pressure—which sparked wide debate in both medical and public circles. These resignations led to the transfer of the department unit to the French Educational Hospital and the filing of complaints to the Public Prosecution to investigate the conditions. Some doctors later returned after reaching an agreement with the faculty dean.
Doctors in Egypt are forced to work extremely long, inhumane hours, often exceeding 16 hours per day, especially in public and university hospitals. Some doctors also work in multiple locations to compensate for their low income, leading to physical and psychological exhaustion that undermines their efficiency. These long hours are the result of a shortage in medical staff and increased demand for medical services in public hospitals, where a single doctor handles dozens of patients daily.
The migration of doctors from Egypt is considered one of the most pressing healthcare challenges. More than 7,000 doctors left the country in 2023 alone, with a total of 120,000 Egyptian doctors working abroad out of 220,000 registered with the syndicate. Between 2020 and 2025, the number of doctors per 10,000 citizens dropped from 7.6 to 6.7, as 56% of doctors migrated—especially to the UK, where the number increased from 435 in 2017 to 1,312 last year. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, 7,000 doctors have emigrated, representing 60% of Egyptian doctors working abroad, with European and Gulf countries being the most preferred destinations for professional and financial reasons. In 2025, government-imposed restrictions worsened the crisis, as the number of emigrating doctors reached 110,000 over three years, deepening the internal shortage of medical personnel.
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Where Are Egypt’s Doctors Migrating To?
Data indicates that Egyptian doctors are increasingly migrating to several key destinations, most notably the United Kingdom and Germany in Europe, the United States and Canada in North America, in addition to Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. These countries offer a more organized work environment, less exhausting working hours, and significantly higher salaries compared to what doctors earn in Egypt.
The United Kingdom, for example, has seen the number of registered Egyptian doctors multiply several times over in recent years. Germany has also become an attractive destination thanks to its advanced healthcare system and licensing facilitations. The United States and Canada offer very high salaries and opportunities in specialized fields, although the equivalency and licensing requirements there are more demanding. In the Gulf—particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE—doctors find opportunities with high, often tax-free salaries, along with benefits such as housing and medical insurance.
On the other hand, salaries in Egypt—especially in the public sector—remain extremely low compared to international standards. A newly graduated or resident doctor may earn between 2,000 and 7,000 Egyptian pounds per month ($41–$144), which is even lower than the minimum wage in many countries. In contrast, a doctor in Western Europe may earn between $55,000 and $102,000 annually, in the United States around $220,000, while salaries in Switzerland range between $137,000 and $280,000. In Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, the annual salary can reach around $140,000, and in the UAE between $140,000 and $190,000.
Rising Deaths of Doctors on Duty: A Warning Sign
In recent years, the rate of doctor deaths in Egypt has risen significantly since 2020, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on available data from the Egyptian Medical Syndicate and other sources, the estimated total number of doctors who died while on duty (including COVID-19 infections contracted during service and work-related exhaustion) between 2020 and 2025 is approximately 800–900 cases, with a primary concentration on COVID-related deaths, which reached around 700 cases by 2022, and exhaustion-related deaths ranging between 50–150 additional cases depending on the source.
The Medical Syndicate recorded 149 deaths due to exhaustion in 2022, while other sources reported only 18 cases in the same year (up to September), with lower numbers in previous years (7 in 2020, 10 in 2021). As for the years 2023–2025, there are no updated comprehensive statistics, but individual cases (such as exhaustion-related deaths) continue at an annual rate of 10–20.
In addition, doctors are subjected to violence inside hospitals. A study conducted by researchers at Alexandria University revealed a rise in violence against doctors in Egypt, from a forensic medicine perspective. The study, published in Scientific Reports, surveyed the experiences of 250 doctors across 13 governorates during the period from January to April 2023 to document their encounters with violence in the workplace. The results showed that 88% of doctors had experienced verbal violence, 42% physical violence, and 13.2% sexual harassment. In 75.2% of incidents, attackers used their own bodies, while sharp objects were used in 29.5% of cases and firearms in 1.9%.
The attacks were concentrated in Ministry of Health hospitals and university hospitals, especially during night shifts, due to staff shortages and lack of security procedures. The incidents were often caused by shortages of medical supplies and long waiting times. Despite this, only 14.3% of doctors took legal action.
Working Conditions Beyond Human Endurance
Dr. Khaled Amin, Secretary-General of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, confirms in an exclusive statement to Zawia3 that the crisis in Egypt’s healthcare system is worsening daily, and that what is happening can only be described as “complete chaos.” He points out that “the accumulated pressures doctors are subjected to have become unbearable, and the working environment in public hospitals and healthcare institutions is no longer tolerable. This is driving many doctors either to resign, emigrate, or even leave the profession entirely.”
Amin explains that doctors are facing severely deteriorating economic conditions: “A doctor receives a salary that is completely unworthy of the nature of the job and the level of responsibility, and is subjected to degrading administrative treatment—such as being forced to clock in and out despite being in the operating room or in the middle of an emergency procedure. This does not happen anywhere else in the world.”
He continues: “In the face of these humiliating conditions, we are seeing a rise in the phenomenon of leaving service. In fact, some doctors outright refuse to be appointed in university or public hospitals. The situation has turned into something resembling a professional burnout zone. The tasks now assigned to a single doctor were once distributed among five. As a result, young doctors are breaking under pressure, and their colleagues witness this daily.”
He points out that the initial draft of the Medical Liability Law has created a state of panic among doctors, explaining: “We are witnessing how the doctor is being portrayed as a criminal defendant today, and how medical errors are treated as direct criminal offenses, without scientific investigation or a final court ruling. The media and social media are contributing to the defamation of doctors, and there is still no law protecting them from this.”
Amin warns of the dangers of continuing to ignore doctors’ complaints, adding: “Any patient dissatisfied with a treatment outcome or surgical intervention now has a direct tool to intimidate the doctor through lawsuits and defamation. This even makes private clinic or medical center owners unable to continue, because administrative and tax demands wear them out—electronic invoices, excessive taxes, endless expenses—and in return, there are no incentives to keep them in the system.”
He adds that Gulf and European countries are now offering unprecedented facilities to attract Egyptian doctors: “In the past, medical migration used to take six or seven months to complete the procedures. Now, it’s done in just three or four months. Even though contract values have relatively declined there, they are still far higher than in Egypt—especially with the devaluation of the Egyptian pound and the rising cost of living.”
Amin asserts in his conversation with us that the voices of doctors are not being heard, adding: “When I tried to raise these issues responsibly, I was shocked to be referred to the Public Prosecution—as if doctors are simply expected to remain silent. Instead of dialogue, the Ministry of Health chose the path of security complaints. It’s as if the doctor has become a security threat, merely for demanding his rights or highlighting his colleagues’ suffering.”
He believes that the way the system is being managed reflects a complete lack of vision, saying: “Instead of working to improve doctors’ work environment and providing adequate incentives, the focus is on establishing private universities that graduate large numbers of doctors with no guarantee of quality or competence. In the end, these graduates will also leave the profession or emigrate.”
He continues: “The Egyptian doctor is still among the best in the world, because he goes through professional experiences that don’t happen anywhere else. A doctor in Egypt might examine 70 patients per day and handle complex diseases with no proper equipment or resources. Yet, despite this, he receives no recognition.”
The Secretary-General of the Medical Syndicate warns: “If the situation continues this way, only those who didn’t get a chance to emigrate will remain in Egypt—and they may not always be the most competent. The truly skilled doctors will leave and will leave behind a catastrophic gap in the healthcare system. We are facing imminent collapse, and officials refuse to admit it. We are not asking for privileges—only that the doctor be treated as a respected professional, not as a worthless employee. And if those in charge do not act now, there may be no doctors left to treat us in a few years.”
According to Ministry of Health data, around 9,000 doctors graduate annually, but over 60% choose to work outside Egypt. In 2018, a government study warned of a decline in the number of practicing doctors. It showed that out of 213,000 licensed doctors, only 82,000 were actually working in various healthcare facilities—representing just 38% of the core workforce.
The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics also reported a decline in the number of doctors to 97,400 in 2022, compared to 100,700 in 2021—a 3.3% decrease. Meanwhile, data from the Egyptian Medical Syndicate indicated that around 11,536 doctors resigned from government work in just three years between 2019 and March 2022.
According to those figures, the year 2022 alone witnessed the resignation of more than 4,300 Egyptian doctors working in public hospitals—the highest number in the past seven years—with an average of 13.5 doctors resigning per day. The number has quadrupled from 1,044 resignations in 2016 to 4,127 in 2021.
For his part, Dr. Ayman Fathy—a consultant in hospital administration and health systems—believes that “the recent crisis in Egypt’s medical colleges, with mass resignations, is not an isolated incident, but rather a continuation of a long-standing pattern of accumulated pressure on doctors in the workplace. This has led many to either leave the profession, emigrate, or suffer from health complications that could reach death.”
Fathy tells Zawia3: “If we want to diagnose the problem scientifically, we’re talking about three main axes: human resources, work environment, and operational mechanisms. In terms of human resources, we’re facing young people who entered medical school dreaming of joining the academic faculty—even if the financial compensation was very low, below the minimum wage. But they accepted the financial sacrifice in exchange for learning and academic advancement. However, education is no longer what it used to be, with inflated class sizes, declining training quality, absent moral support, and doctors facing verbal and physical abuse from some patients or their families.”
He adds: “As for the work environment, it is, in many cases, neither safe nor comfortable. Doctors’ accommodations in hospitals and universities are, in most cases, inhumane—lacking basic standards of cleanliness and rest—and do not provide doctors with adequate meals or decent places to rest after long shifts. Doctors working in tourist hospitals or remote villages may receive better housing and food than those in university or public hospitals, who completely lack these essentials.”
He continues in his remarks to us: “The third axis is the operational mechanism. In most countries around the world, doctors work between 36 to 42 hours per week, distributed over reasonable shifts. But in Egyptian hospitals, shifts can reach 24, 36, or even 48 to 72 continuous hours without interruption. This contradicts human nature and leads to severe physical and mental exhaustion. There is no law setting a maximum limit for continuous working hours, leaving the matter to department heads’ discretion—opening the door to exhausting and even dangerous practices for both doctors and patients alike.”
The solution starts with passing a clear law that defines the maximum number of continuous working hours, while obligating hospitals to provide a comfortable and safe work environment—including decent accommodation and proper meals. Improving the work environment is no less important than improving wages, because a doctor working under humane conditions can tolerate low pay in their early years. But they cannot survive in a toxic work environment with exhausting hours that lead to tragic incidents—like the young doctor who died at Qasr Al-Ainy from exhaustion and not having time to eat.
Egypt’s doctor crisis is no longer just a professional or economic issue—it has become a direct threat to national health security. Amid tragic deaths from exhaustion, mass resignations, and the migration of skilled professionals abroad, the gap between patient needs and the system’s ability to meet them continues to grow. Unless urgent action is taken to improve working conditions, raise wages, and provide legal protection for doctors, the future of healthcare in Egypt may face an irreversible collapse—where only a few remain, while the rest head where their expertise is valued and their efforts respected.
