The Annual International Conference of the Institue of National Planning Concludes with Recommendations

By Fathy Elsaye and Eman Elwasly

Dr. Sameh El-saharty: The necessity of separating the service provider from the source of funding to achieve financial sustainability.
Prof. Michael Sparer: The 100 million Health Program as a model to strengthen the public health system.
Prof. Heba Nassar: Health should be a primary priority in the state budget, with inter-ministerial cooperation to achieve universal health coverage.
Dr. Mona Gohary: We must enhance sustainability in healthcare through sustainable performance standards.
Prof. Moeness M. Alshishtawy: It is essential to provide all health services at minimal cost and to enhance healthcare services and infrastructure in Egypt.
Dr. Mohamed Hasan Khalil: We cannot deny the improvement in public health indicators in Egypt over the past years, and the challenges of population growth and its impact on achieving sustainable development.
Dr. Ashraf El Araby: Governance of the health sector is essential to achieving sustainable development goals, and spending on the health sector is a high-return investment both economically and developmentally.
Cairo, June 25, 2023 – The Annual International Conference of the Institute of National Planning continued its activities today, concluding with the announcement of recommendations by Dr. Ashraf El-Araby. The conference, organized by the Institute of National Planning in collaboration with the USAID-funded Economic Governance Project and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), was held in Cairo over two days, June 24-25.

The conference discussed the interconnections between governance, health, and sustainable development across three main axes: enhancing economic governance reform, improving institutional development and public administration capacities, and developing and implementing new service delivery models.

Second Day Highlights

The second day began with a session on “Financing and Investment in the Health Sector: A Multi-Sectoral Perspective,” moderated by Prof. Hossam Badrawi, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University / Former Head of the Education and Scientific Research Committee in the Egyptian Parliament. The session featured speakers including financial expert Sherif Sami, Mr. Sherif Samy, Financial Expert, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Company for Asset Management and Investment /And Member of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Universal Health Insurance, and Dr. Sameh El-Saharty Programme Leader for Human Development-Gulf Cooperation Council Countries, World Bank.
Dr. Saharty presented a paper titled “Building Sustainable Healthy Communities through Public Health Investment,” which was further elaborated on by Prof. Michael Sparer; Research Scholar Nuoya Wu; and Prof William Eimicke.
Prof. Heba Nassar, Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University / Former Vice President of Cairo University, provided commentary.

Key Points and Recommendations:

– Dr. Sameh El-Saharty: Emphasized the need to balance performance improvement with cost control in health insurance, recommending the separation of service providers from funding sources to ensure sustainable financing.

– Prof. Michael Sparer: Suggested using the 100 million Health Program as a model to enhance Egypt’s public health system and recommended reducing reliance on private payments, increasing centralized leadership in public health crises, and countering misinformation.

– Prof. Heba Nassar: Stressed the importance of prioritizing health in the state budget and called for strong political support and inter-ministerial cooperation to achieve comprehensive health coverage.

The second session, “Enhancing the Sustainability and Resilience of the Health Sector in Egypt: Recent Reforms and Roadmap,” chaired by Prof. Mahmoud El Meteini, featured
Dr. Mona Gohary’s research on “Green Healthcare: Enhancing Sustainability through Sustainable Performance Standards – A Model for Sustainable Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) in Private Hospitals in Egypt.” Dr. Gohary highlighted the need for a balance between financial measures and service delivery, and the importance of human resource development and performance measurement for sustainability.

Further Recommendations:

– Prof. Moeness M. Alshishtawy: Proposed a three-tiered roadmap to overcome health challenges in Egypt, emphasizing affordable universal health services, enhanced healthcare infrastructure, and workforce development.

– Prof. Mohamed Hasan Khalil: Discussed the evolution of healthcare in Egypt from 2014 to 2024, highlighting improvements but noting that personal health expenditure remains high due to inadequate public sector funding.

Closing Remarks

In his closing remarks, Prof. Ashraf El Araby, President of the National Planning Institute, summarized the conference’s conclusions:
– Health as a Pillar of Sustainable Development: Health influences poverty rates, education quality, economic growth, inequality, and climate change. Achieving health development requires a comprehensive approach involving governments, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society.
– Governance and Investment: Effective governance ensures efficient resource use, service quality improvement, and enhanced accountability and transparency. Health sector spending is a high-return investment economically and developmentally.
– Challenges: Addressing funding gaps, population growth, and the shortage of qualified healthcare professionals, alongside reducing personal health expenditures.
– Achievements: Significant improvements in public health indicators, a comprehensive developmental approach to reduce population growth, expansion of health services, and the successful eradication of Hepatitis C.

Action Plan for Sustainable Health Development:
1. Enhance governance in the health sector.
2. Support evidence-based approaches and innovation in health.
3. Ensure equitable access to healthcare resources.
4. Focus on efficient spending and innovative financing.
5. Prioritize primary healthcare for achieving universal coverage.
6. Encourage private sector participation by removing barriers.
7. Develop and modernize healthcare infrastructure.
8. Leverage global expertise in digital health.
9. Promote intersectoral collaboration and community engagement.
10. Ensure availability of data for monitoring progress and evaluating outcomes.

These measures call for prioritizing health and adopting a transformative approach to thinking and planning.