20 hospitals almost ready for international patients, medical tourism visas planned

Egypt’s medical tourism programme will offer cardiac, orthopaedic, eye and other surgeries in the first phase, for 15 Arab and African countries.

The Supreme Committee for Medical Tourism, set up by the Egyptian Cabinet, says that 20 hospitals will soon be ready to receive patients from abroad. These include hospitals in Sharm el-Sheikh, Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Alexandria

A guide to locations offering medical tourism services will be issued. Discussions on pricing are underway between the committee and hospitals. A new medical tourism website is probably going to be set up. The ministers of foreign affairs and aviation are working on establishing a mechanism to issue medical tourism visas to foreign patients.

The medical tourism programme will offer cardiac, orthopaedic, eye and other surgeries in the first phase, for 15 Arab and African countries.

Egypt’s Health Ministry is considering setting up medical tourism offices at the airports of Sharm el-Sheikh, Aswan, Alexandria, Red Sea and Luxor, in addition to the office at Cairo International Airport, to market Egypt’s medical tourism.

The committee wants to attract foreign investment to Egypt to set up projects that serve medical tourism.

Despite historic security problems there is long-term potential for medical tourism in Egypt if the government is prepared to spend money to promote medical tourism and can get international investors. View the IMTJ country report for Egypt.