The initiative targets more than 60 million people in rural communities nationwide.
In Zefta district, it covers 10 local administrative units comprising 55 villages, 92 hamlets, and affiliated communities, serving around 560,000 residents, Gharbiya Governor Alaa Abdel-Moaty said.
He added that 221 projects had been completed across the district, including healthcare facilities, government and agricultural service complexes, roads, bridges, youth centres, ambulance points, and public utilities.
At the Sandabast Family Medicine Centre, Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar said insulin was “readily available,” dismissing reports of shortages.
Officials said the centre had sufficient stocks of insulin and medicines for chronic and internal diseases to last three months.
Madbouly directed officials to raise public awareness of locally produced alternatives to imported insulin, saying Egyptian products provide comparable efficacy and treatment outcomes.
The three-storey centre, constructed on 2,050 square metres, serves more than 47,000 people and saves residents from travelling up to five kilometres to Zefta General Hospital.
It houses family medicine, specialist and dental clinics, a pharmacy, laboratory, radiology centre, first-aid services, and maternal and child healthcare facilities.
It also provides screening and treatment under presidential health initiatives for chronic diseases, renal impairment, cancer and genetic disorders, alongside women’s, elderly, maternal, foetal, and newborn healthcare.
Doctors said medical services were available around the clock, while the family-planning clinic receives up to 900 visits per month and provides all services free of charge.
“Healthcare projects under the Decent Life initiative represent one of the most important pillars of investing in Egypt’s people,” Madbouly said.
The prime minister also inspected Sandabast’s agricultural and veterinary services complex, which serves 2,066 agricultural holdings covering 1,528 feddans.
The 352-square-metre complex comprises two buildings. The first houses the agricultural cooperative and a two-story agricultural extension center, while the second houses the veterinary unit.
The veterinary unit provides animal and poultry examinations and treatment, vaccinations, artificial insemination, ultrasound services, and free veterinary convoys. It also includes an equipped laboratory and a veterinary pharmacy stocked with the required medicines and vaccines.
The agricultural section distributes fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds through the Farmer Card system and provides training on modern farming methods, improving productivity, and preventing agricultural pests and diseases.
“Providing specialized agricultural and veterinary services within villages reflects the state’s commitment to supporting farmers and improving crop and livestock production,” Madbouly said.
Agriculture Minister Alaa Farouk said Gharbiya’s principal crops include wheat, maize, and rice. He added that work was underway to improve seed quality and increase yields from existing cultivated areas.
Madbouly later inaugurated Sandabast’s government services complex, which brings several public agencies together in one location.
Construction began in November 2022 through the Central North Coast Reconstruction Authority.
The three-storey building occupies 666 square metres and includes a technology centre with 17 service counters, a civil registry, a real estate registration and notarization office, and food-subsidy, postal, and social solidarity offices.
It also houses the local administrative unit’s headquarters and the local council.
The complex serves Sandabast, Kafr El-Geneidy, and Kafr Farsis villages, as well as 19 neighbouring hamlets.
Madbouly ordered the full activation of its services, stressing that citizens’ requests must be handled “efficiently and promptly” and completed in accordance with applicable procedures to strengthen public confidence in the new service system.
Minister of Local Development and Environment Manal Awad said the government plans to expand such complexes across the governorates. In contrast, Housing Minister Randa El-Menshawy said they would spare rural residents the difficulty of travelling between different government offices.
The Sandabast facilities form part of the first phase of the presidential Decent Life initiative, launched in July 2021 to improve infrastructure and essential services in Egypt’s rural communities.
According to the latest government progress report, published on June, 23,161 of the first phase’s 27,332 projects had been completed, a completion rate of 91.3 percent, across 782 villages. A further 17,595 projects had been formally handed over, while 4,171 remained under implementation.
The first phase covers 1,477 villages across 333 local units in 52 districts and 20 governorates, benefiting nearly 20 million people. The broader programme targets more than 4,500 villages and aims to improve living conditions for over 60 million Egyptians.
The government is simultaneously working to operate completed first-phase facilities and prepare for the second phase.
The next phase will cover an additional 1,667 villages, beginning with priority basic infrastructure projects. The government had allocated EGP 25 billion in FY2025/2026 for second-phase drinking-water and sanitation projects.
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