Photo courtesy of State Information Service
The agreement was announced during the fifth edition of Africa Health ExCon, which opened earlier this week under the theme Africa's Health Sovereignty: Leadership, Resilience and Self-Reliance. The event, held under the patronage of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, brings together healthcare experts to discuss issues including digital infrastructure, communications, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and health data.
The partnership is intended to promote exchanges between governments, institutions, and companies involved in digital transformation and other sectors linked to economic and social development, FDC Chairman and Mideast Communication Systems (MDC) CEO Tarek Shabaka said.
The FDC Summit, launched in 2024, is an annual Cairo-based technology event backed by MDC, a cybersecurity and IT value-added distributor operating in the Middle East and Africa. The summit focuses on digital transformation, information technology, and cybersecurity.
The agreement comes as Egypt seeks deeper integration with African countries in sectors including healthcare, while many countries on the continent are looking to strengthen healthcare resilience following recurring outbreaks of infectious diseases such as Ebola.
Egypt is also seeking to improve the efficiency and sustainability of its healthcare system. Under the 2026/27 fiscal year, which begins on 1 July, the government plans to increase healthcare spending by 25 percent as part of broader efforts to strengthen human development and social protection.
The government has earmarked around 90.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.8 billion) for medicines, medical supplies, and equipment, and 47.5 billion pounds ($940 million) for state-funded treatment and health insurance.
Egypt is also expanding vaccine production and private-sector investment in the sector. State-owned vaccine producer VACSERA recently secured a 750,000-euro ($860,000) technical assistance package and a 50-million-euro manufacturing facility from the European Investment Bank.
The agreement comes as Egypt awaits the outcome of the seventh review of its International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The reviews are expected to unlock $1.6 billion in additional financing, with the IMF programme emphasizing spending on health and education.
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