Meanwhile, the House Health Committee rejected a proposal to open up the development of 377 full-service hospitals for underserved areas to private sector participation, according to unnamed parliamentary sources, Al Borsa reported on Sunday. The proposal had been submitted by Health Minister Ahmed Emad El Din Rady. The total estimated cost to develop the hospitals is reportedly EGP 11.3 bn, according to the health minister’s proposal, or c.EGP 30 mn per hospital. Last month, Rady had said his ministry identified 75 out of 400 such hospitals which were suitable for privatization. Private-sector participation was one scenario of several presented by the minister. Others include joint development of hospitals with another ministry, possibly including the Defense Ministry. Also yesterday: The Doctor’s Syndicate released a statement explaining their opposition to the privatization of the hospitals in question.

Background: The “Takamol” hospitals were built in the 1990s to provide low-income families across Egypt with access to comprehensive, quality and low cost healthcare — and were promptly neglected by the state. Plans to refurbish them under a public-private partnership first arose during the 2005 campaign of Hosni Mubarak, but were abandoned, Youm7 reports.