Scandal in Egypt’s ministry of health: Zayed has heart attack after unveiling systemic corruption managed by her office

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Monday, the Egyptian minister of health and population, Hala Zayed, returned to her office in the ministry’s premise located in Cairo’s downtown after attending the commencement of military colleges and institutes’ graduates with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. But in the ministry, unhappy surprise was waiting.

Officers from the Administrative Control Authority attended to the ministry and told the minister that they came to arrest her office manager as well as other officials in the ministry and the minister’s office including two officials in the medical licenses and free care administration, which is responsible of authorizing the private hospitals and medical centers. The officers told the minister that they have records proving that the officials receive bribes making illegal use of their posts. Afterwards, Zayed had a hypertensive crisis and was transferred immediately to Wadi al-Nil Hospital, a hospital affiliated to the Egyptian General Intelligence, where it was detected that she has brain oedema due to the hypertensive crisis.

A source in the ministry told Egypt Watch that Zayed herself is involved in the corruption and it was proved that she received a BMW automobile as a bribe for giving a license to a private hospital called Al-Nasayem in the Fifth Settlement, Cairo. Moreover, the source added that Zayed has no health problems and the crisis was claimed to conceal the interrogation of the minister in the intelligence-owned hospital. Al-Akhbar Lebanese daily reported that Zayed’s son is involved in mediating bribes in the ministry as well as an official in the Health Insurance Organization.

Social media response to the minister’s health crisis ranged between sympathy and emphasizing on the minister’s responsibility of the maltreatment with Covid-19 crisis in Egypt, which included concealing facts and discrimination between citizens in provision of medical care.