The House of Representatives’ Health Affairs Committee, chaired by Sherif Pasha, approved on Tuesday 3 November 2026 Presidential Decree No. 351 of 2026 approving the agreement “Financing the New Phase of Implementing the Universal Health Insurance System Reform” between the Egyptian government and the French Development Agency, in a joint meeting with the bureaus of the Economic Affairs, Planning and Budget, and Foreign Relations committees.
The government and the agency signed the agreement in Cairo on 24 June 2026, and neither parliament nor the government has announced the value of the financing. During the meeting, MP Safinaz Talaat commented “damn the loans”, and the committee chair ordered the remark struck from the meeting minutes.
The universal health insurance system has been applied in phases across governorates since its law was issued in 2018. The cabinet approved the draft presidential decree on the agreement in July 2026, before it was referred to the House of Representatives. In its plenary session the same day, the House approved two other agreements with the French Development Agency, one for the “Sustainable Green Industry” project and the other to support teaching French in public schools, then adjourned until Monday 16 November.
Photo: ديفيد عادل وهبة خليل 2 via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
