Health care in Egypt is something of big concern. Government health insurance covers all public-sector workers—premiums are automatically deducted from salaries. However, employees can make a claim only when they are treated in government hospitals or in hospitals owned by their companies. The public sector accounts for the bulk of hospital care in Egypt, but its share is steadily declining. Public-sector hospitals have been underfunded for years and many function poorly. Facilities are often out of date and badly maintained. Egypt's health care system is mainly state-funded, with health care dispensation free at the point of delivery.
The quality of health care is compromised by a lack of co-ordination between facilities, since hospitals are attached to a range of state actors, including the Ministry of Higher Education, the military and some of the larger public-sector companies. Conditions for health care workers in the public sector are difficult—pay is inadequate and there is a lack of monitoring to ensure that standards are maintained. As a result, doctors are tempted to reserve their best efforts for more profitable private work. Even though public health care is provided free or at nominal fees, an estimated 60% of primary health care visits now take place in private clinics or hospitals, indicating that only those who cannot afford anything else are willing to trust their health care to the state.
Facts:
- Infant mortality per 1000 live births- 29
- Life expectancy at birth- 68
- Adult literacy rate- 71.4% of population
- Access to potable water- 98% of population
- Undernutrition- 4% of population
- People living below $1 a day- 3.1% of population
In coming to Egypt, I imagined the same experience-- top of the line health care. Well, I got just the opposite. I found an OBGYN, she was very quiet, non-personal, careless, and to say the least the clinic was not clean by US standards whatsoever. The first thing I noticed was there was an actual sheet on the bed where she does exams. In the states they use paper sheets that are replaced each time someone else goes in the room for sanitary reasons. This triggered me into thinking that I will not get the same experience, without regarding the overall look of the "clinic". My "Dr" didn't even ask for my phone number, she never scheduled a coming appointment, never told me when I should return, if ever. As far as I knew, I should just go to the hospital whenever I go into labor. My labor story is horrible, but long story short, she wasn't in town although she knew I would be going into labor any moment. She was careless.
My conclusion to the overall comparison of the two health care standards is that on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest, the USA is by far a 10. You are treated to respect, cleanliness, piece of mind, and all resources that are available. Egypt would be the lowest number available, a 1. I was in active labor and didn't have a Dr until I was dialated at 9 cm. I was told I was 2 cm, when I was really 9. With this said, it's safe to say that health care in Egypt is very bad. Although it is cheap, in comparison to the USA, you get what you pay for. The quality is horrible; there just is none.
I think that an intervention with overall health standards in Egypt would be a great thing to have. Someone needs to speak up for all the people who have to deal with this for the rest of their lives and although health care is mostly available to anyone and everyone, with quality like this what good does it do? There are many times when I have heard from people who was misdiagnosed, where they didn't clean the area properly when given an injection, who's time was just wasted. Something needs to be done to protect the population and that should begin with the government doing something. Rather than an intervention, an ultimatum should be made and should begin with someone powerful. Someone who can speak on behalf of everyone who experiences health care in Egypt. Someone such as a politician or a health official who really cares about the people. That in itself would be a difference because it seems when it comes to health care here in Egypt, nobody has a voice in the way the ridiculous way the health care system is run.
Credits:
http://www.multimedia-publishing.com/egypt.htm
http://www.who.int/whosis/mort/profiles/mort_emro_egy_egypt.pdf
http://www.healthofnations.com/countries/profile/egypt
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Africa/Egypt-POVERTY-AND-WEALTH.html
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