A cabinet statement said the review follows presidential directives to speed up nationwide implementation of the system and gradually include more governorates, while ensuring financial sustainability as a condition for expansion.
Speaking at a meeting at the government headquarters in the New Capital, PM Madbouly said the UHIS is a top state priority under instructions from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, stressing the need to expand coverage while safeguarding long-term funding.
He said the second phase currently targets five governorates, with Alexandria also under consideration, adding that the government is assessing system revenues to maintain sustainability as enrolment grows.
Madbouly also called on the finance ministry to secure additional or exceptional funding for both the UHIS and the Haya Karima rural development initiative, noting strong public demand for both programmes during his visits to beneficiary villages.
Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk said allocations for the next fiscal year will increase for both programmes, a move expected to expand insurance coverage and improve service quality in rural areas.
Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar said planning for the second-phase governorates, Minya, Matrouh, Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh, and North Sinai, is based on clear population coverage standards. Each family medicine clinic serves about 5,000 citizens, while clinic networks are designed to cover between 60,000 and 80,000 people.
A health unit serves 20,000 citizens, and a family medicine centre serves 40,000, he said.
For hospital care, Abdel-Ghaffar said public-sector capacity is calculated at one bed per 1,000 citizens, with private-sector participation capped at 30–40 percent of total beds, subject to compliance with quality and accreditation standards.
He said the second-phase plan includes 69 hospitals with 11,427 beds. These comprise five accredited hospitals with 542 beds; 11 hospitals under the first phase of Haya Karima with accredited designs and 1,651 beds; 22 newer hospitals requiring evaluation or accreditation with 1,957 beds; 14 hospitals needing partial or full redevelopment with 2,147 beds; and 17 newly built hospitals and medical complexes with 5,130 beds.
The plan also includes 669 primary healthcare units and centres, 516 of which fall under the second phase of the Haya Karima rural development initiative.
In Minya, Abdel-Ghaffar said preparations began with inspections of 110 facilities, including 32 hospitals, 58 primary care facilities, and 20 private healthcare facilities. Ongoing projects include Al-Adwa Central Hospital with 137 beds, along with hospitals in Beni Mazar, Abu Qurqas, Mattay, Maghagha, and New Minya.
In North Sinai, teams inspected 80 facilities, including eight hospitals, 66 primary care facilities, and six private hospitals. Projects include Romana Emergency and Trauma Hospital, Baghdad Emergency and Trauma Hospital, and a dialysis building at Al-Arish General Hospital, with the first phase of Romana already completed.
In Matrouh, inspections covered 40 facilities: 20 hospitals, 16 primary care facilities, and four private hospitals. Planned capacity includes 716 beds for the capital sector, 278 for the North Coast, 237 for the border coast, and 60 for Siwa Oasis, alongside the New Alamein Hospital project spanning 16,800 square metres.
Re-evaluations are also underway in Kafr El-Sheikh and Damietta following a cabinet decision. Projects include Al-Hamoul, Motobas, and Riyadh central hospitals in Kafr El-Sheikh and Fareskour Hospital in Damietta, alongside parallel plans covering infrastructure, equipment, digital transformation, and staffing.
The UHIS currently serves more than 6.2 million people. It was launched on a trial basis in Port Said in 2018 and later expanded to several governorates during its first phase, completed in July 2025.
Nationwide coverage was initially scheduled for completion by 2032, but the timeline was later brought forward, with full implementation now planned between 2027 and 2030.
Officials said the system has so far delivered more than 250 million health services, with total funding exceeding EGP 48 billion, as part of a wider reform of Egypt’s public healthcare sector.
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