Plan set to achieve digital country

CAIRO – 19 September 2018: Ministry of Communication and Information Technology seeks to establish the Information Infrastructure Project of the new health insurance system to follow up patients' registry database and provide medical care for those who cannot afford health coverage.

This initiative comes as part of the government’s plan to transform Egypt into a digital country.

Minister of Communication and Information Technology Amr Talaat told Egypt Today that the information infrastructure of the new health insurance system includes a unified health file for each patient, who visits medical units and laboratories, as well as the statistical reports and database necessary for decision-makers at the health sector.

He added that this will enable the government to follow up the patients' health registry, develop an integrated database of the chronic diseases and establish a secure information network to exchange information and services among the medical units.

“The project aims to automate the comprehensive social health insurance system and deploy it in accordance with the plan of the Ministry of Health and Population, aiming to serve all citizens, provide medical care for those who cannot afford health coverage and improve the delivery of health services,” according to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.

During the second day of the National Youth Conference held on July 29, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi urged the Administrative Control Authority to transform Egypt into a digital country within four years to improve the services offered to citizens in all fields.

He referred that the National Information Infrastructure Project will help the state reach poor families.

Hence, the Ministry of Communication plays a vital role in implementing the government’s plan through providing technical advisory to ministries to provide Egyptians with electronic services through different channels.

Talaat revealed that one of the projects that the ministry works on is the electronic smart cards for Egypt's farmers to control the agricultural sector.

The electronic cards will store information, including farmers' names, identification number and agricultural land holdings, to eliminate administrative corruption within the Ministry of Agriculture, ensure that subsidies reach the proper recipients and help the government keep track of land holdings and the types of cultivated lands.

The ministry will also establish a vast database and provide precise information for state agricultural planning and design purposes.

As for education, around 2500 schools have access to the internet service, and by the beginning of the new academic year all schools across Egypt will have internet access, which is a part of the plan to develop the educational system.

On the other hand, the minister of communication said that an agreement was signed with the Ministry of Immigration to implement the “international remittances” service to facilitate for Egyptians abroad the remittances service through enabling them to instantly send their remittances to their relatives in Egypt through their cell phones.

As for the digital economy, President Sisi referred during meeting with the CEO of Visa International Alfred Kelly on April 4 that Egypt seeks to enhance cooperation with the digital payment company Visa International and to increase its investments in Egypt.

Presidential spokesman Bassam Radi said that the president referred to the government’s efforts in upgrading the system of financial services, which will help encourage investment and stimulate the economy.

The president said the government is working to achieve financial inclusion through merging different segments of the society into the financial services system.
The meeting also touched on discussing means of cooperation with Visa in implementing Egypt’s strategy to transform into digital economy.