The Secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, Mohamed Abdel Hamid, has revealed that the number of
doctors resigning has been constantly increasing during the past several years, so that the number of
doctors in the country has decreased.
He explained that during the year 2019, 3,500 doctors submitted their resignation from the Ministry of
Health.
He pointed out that the number of resignations increased compared to the number of resignations in
2018, when 2,600 doctors resigned.
Abdel Hamid mentioned a number of reasons for these resignations, among them administrative abuse
by the Ministry of Health, and poor salaries.
Abdel Hamid mentioned an example of the administrative abuse using the Minya incident, which
resulted in the killing of four female doctors, who were informed of the necessity of travelling to Cairo
suddenly. The ministry refused to apologise.
Female doctors were forced to travel on a passenger minibus. Four died in the accident and 17 were
injured.
Abdel Hamid recognises the importance of training doctors, but without centralisation, explaining that
female doctors from Minya were obligated to travel to Cairo although this training could have been
obtained at the University of Minya or the Oncology Center in Minya.
In the same context, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics revealed the decrease in
the number of doctors in 2018 compared to the previous year, and the increase in the number of
hospitals.
It also revealed important figures in the health sector during the annual bulletin of health service
statistics for the year 2018.
The agency said that the total number of patients who were treated at the expense of the state abroad
and at home amounted to 2.6 million patients at a cost of EGP 8.4 billion in 2018.
In contrast, in 2017, 2.5 million patients were treated at a cost of EGP 6.1 billion, which means there is
an increase of 37.2 per cent in treatment costs.
The total number of hospitals reached 691 hospitals in 2018 compared to 676 hospitals in 2017, an
increase of 2.2 per cent.
The total number of university hospitals reached 89 hospitals in 2018 compared to 87 hospitals in 2017,
an increase of 2.3 per cent.
This increase was offset by a decrease in the number of doctors, which means an increase in the burden
on the continuing doctors at the Ministry of Health.
The total number of hospital beds reached 95,683 beds in 2018 compared to 96,111 beds in 2017, a
decrease of 0.4 per cent.
The total number of doctors was 113,305 doctors (including dental doctors) in 2018 compared to 12,4871
doctors in 2017, a decrease of 9.3 per cent.
The total number of the Nursing Authority reached 196,686 nurses in 2018 compared to 191,351 nurses
in 2017, an increase of 2.8 per cent.
The total number of health insurance beneficiaries reached 55.6 million in 2018 compared to 54.2
million in 2017, an increase of 2.6 per cent.

The total number of ambulance centres reached 1,464 centers in 2018 compared to 1,774 in 2017, a
decrease of 17.5 per cent.
The total number of hospitals reached 28 in 2018 compared to 27 hospitals in 2017, with an increase of
3.7 per cent, and the total number of hospital beds reached 2,761 beds in 2018 compared to 2,561 in
2017, an increase of 7.8 per cent.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health has admitted that it recorded thousands of resignations among young
doctors, to the extent that the ministry was facing a clear shortage in the number of doctors.
In September 2018, the Egyptian Minister of Health, Hala Zayed, admitted that the ministry faces a
large shortage of doctors and that 60 per cent of Egyptian doctors work in Saudi Arabia alone, in
addition to many who work in other Arab countries and across the world.
The salary of the Egyptian doctor is EGP 2,000 per month, approximately $120, while the doctor in
Saudi Arabia earns $13,000 dollars per month, and the salary of the doctor in Canada, America,
Australia and most of the European countries ranges between $200,000 and $500,000 dollars annually,
which is between $16,000 to $41,000 dollars a month.
Besides the vast financial difference, Egyptian doctors complains that they cannot find the advanced
medical equipment necessary for their work.