The Land and Geography: Egypt is located in the northeastern corner of Africa. Rectangular in shape, it covers an area of 386,000 mile². To the West lie the Western Desert and Libya, and the East is bordered by a desert plateau, Red Sea, Sinai, and Israel. The Sudan is on Egypt’s southern border and to the North lies the Mediterranean. Egypt can be divided into The Eastern Desert, The Western Desert, and The Nile Valley.

The people: Population (2012 est.): 83,688,164 (growth rate: 1.92 %. Cairo, 10,902,000, Alexandria, 4,387,000; Giza, 2,597,600 and the country is divided into 26 governorates. Poverty has declined over the past few decades; however, there is disparity—poverty in Upper Egypt increased from 29 to 34 % in rural areas and from 11 to 19 % in urban areas. Although Egypt has experienced a rapid transition to lower fertility, Egypt is the second most populous country in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, with 43 % of the population living in urban areas and overcrowded conditions. The Egyptians are outgoing, warm, and have a distinct sense of humor. They have respect and a liking for foreigners, and a deep sense of tolerance for other races, religions, and nationalities [3].

Language: Arabic is Egypt’s official language. However, most Egyptians understand and speak English and French. In larger towns, the foreign visitor will encounter no difficulty in communicating with the people [4].

Religion: Approximately 85 % of the populations of Egypt are Moslems. Most of the balance, about nine million, is Christian Orthodox who belongs to the Coptic Church. In most cities in Egypt, mosques and churches can be found next to each other. There are also some synagogues since a small Jewish community still lives in Egypt [4].

Economy: Egypt is classified as a lower-middle-income country; however, characteristics of high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries coexist. Poverty has declined over the past few decades; however, there is disparity—poverty in Upper Egypt increased from 29 to 34 % in rural areas and from 11 to 19 % in urban areas [4].

The structure of the Egyptian Government is a democracy in transition, having recently elected a president; with all political authority is vested in the Government in Cairo [4].

The Egyptian health system: The health care system in Egypt is quite complex with a large number of public entities involved in the management, financing, and provision of care. Egypt’s wide network of public (several ministries beside the military and police), NGO, faith-based charity organizations, and private health facilities allow good geographic accessibility and coverage. The Ministry of Health and Population is responsible for overall health and population policy as well as the provision of public health services, and is responsible for health insurance organization that provides services too. The Ministry of higher education is however responsible for health profession education (medical, nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy) and also runs university teaching hospitals. Public health expenditure is low and has pluralistic and complex financing mechanisms: tax-based financing, health insurance, and fee for service through out-of-pocket expenditures. To achieve universal coverage, Egypt is rolling out a new insurance scheme, currently being piloted in Suez Governorate, based on a “family physician model” which will separate financing from service provision. Despite Government’s efforts for universal coverage, about half of total health expenditure comes from out-of-pocket (50 %) at the point of service in public and private facilities. Egypt produces over 90 % of the pharmaceuticals it consumes. Pharmaceuticals account for just over one-third of all health spending, of which approximately 85 % is private expenditure. Publicly produced medicines are heavily subsidized, which to a considerable extent accounts for their overuse [4, 5].

The Egyptian constitution enshrines free medical care as a basic right for all citizens, and though access to primary health care is fairly widespread, this ideal has yet to be fully realized. Vaccination rates, a good indicator of the access to basic health services, are high, and Egypt has also achieved some success in controlling communicable diseases. However, access to even basic services varies widely according to gender, region of residence, and socioeconomic status [4, 5].

The organization of the Egyptian health system is fairly complex. Public health care is highly centralized within the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), though a number of other public entities are involved in managing and financing health care services. The most important of these are the Health Insurance Organization (HIO), which finances and provides services to almost half the population, and the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), which is responsible for medical education and some service delivery (i.e., in university hospitals). There is no overarching institutional oversight of all public entities involved in providing health services, limiting coordination between the various branches [4, 5].

Expenditure on health: is divided in the following manner: 36 % goes to pharmaceuticals, 19 % to services provided by the MOHP, 18 % to the private sector, 10 % to university hospitals, 8 % to services provided by the insurance system, 6 % to NGOs, and 3 % to other public institutions. Private insurance is fairly limited in Egypt, as premiums are low and companies find it hard to turn a profit. Recent reforms have de-regulated premiums, making the regulatory environment somewhat less restrictive, but still difficult to operate in [4, 5].