Gov. obligates hospitals to play national anthem daily; why?

CAIRO – 11 July 2018: Health Minister Hala Zayed obligated all hospitals to play the national anthem daily followed by the doctor’s oath through the internal radio of each hospital.

She said in an official statement issued on Tuesday that this decision would enhance values of patriotism and loyalty to the country. “This also would remind physicians of their professional principals and the humanitarian and noble role they play in the society,” Zayed said.

Hala was appointed earlier in June following assigning new Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly to form the new Cabinet. With her appointment, the number of female ministers in the current Cabinet reached a total of eight ministers for the first time in Egyptian history.

Zayed is the second female minister in the history of the Health Ministry since its establishment in 1937. Hala el-Rabat was the first female minister to hold the position from 2013 until 2014.

Zayed was the president of the 57357 Academy of Health Sciences, the chairwoman of the Supreme Committee for Combating Corruption at the Ministry of Health and an advisor to the minister of health and population.

She has a master’s degree in obstetrics and gynecology and a doctorate and a master's degree in business administration; additionally, Zayed supervised a series of national projects in the health sector, in which the World Bank, the World Health Organization and a number of international donors contributed.

She also held other positions like the director general of the General Department of Hospitals in the Medical Therapy Sector of the ministry, the head of the Central Administration for Monitoring and Follow-up and the head of the Department of Grants and Loans at the ministry.

Since taking her new post, many officials and citizens called on Zayed to tackle all of the challenges waiting for her regarding the health sector in the country which requires a lot of reforms to be able to offer the citizens good quality of medical services. In her first statements, she assured she will be fighting corruption and neglect.

The minster pledged that she will be dealing directly with patients and will go around the country to check their needs and make sure they are receiving the best services from the government.

She also affirmed in her first statements that implementing the new Health Insurance Law will be her priority. On Friday, President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi directed implementing the first phase of this new law.

In an official statement issued July 6, presidency spokesperson Bassam Rady said the first phase of the new law includes preliminary procedures for the full implementation of the law, including:

“The elimination of patient waiting lists for surgery and critical medical interventions within six months, providing the needed stocks of infant formula and vaccines, and finishing the comprehensive survey and treatment of Hepatitis C virus for Egyptian citizens.”

In December 2017, Egypt’s Parliament approved the new national Health Insurance Law, raising a stormy debate between the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, which opposes the draft law, and parliamentarians. The law was criticized for imposing more burdens on the individual's income as the law raises the monthly insurance fees.

This, however, reflects the uncountable challenges zayed faces to develop the hospitals infrastructure and services; the minister's last decision about regarding the national anthem has raised several questions about Zayed’s assessment for priorities and decisions amid the current status of health services in Egypt.