Egyptian parliament approves JICA healthcare insurance fund

Egypt’s House of Representatives has on Wednesday approved a $336 million loan agreement signed with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to fund Egypt’s health insurance system.

The Egyptian Universal Health Insurance System (UHIS) signed an agreement with JICA in March.

Repayments of the loan will take place over 15 years, with a grace period of four years and an annual interest rate of 0.01 percent.

The loan will help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, including No Poverty, Good Health and Well-being, and Reduced Inequalities, the JICA’s website states.

Egypt has previously signed agreements with JICA, the World Bank, the French Development Agency, and the World Health Organization, to finance Egypt’s UHIS, including a one-billion-dollar facility.

Egypt’s UHIS covers 3,000 diverse health services, among which are surgical interventions, medical analyses, radiology scans, tumor treatments, organ transplants, and prosthetic devices.