The minister's remarks came on Monday during a session titled "A roadmap to increasing the private sector's participation in health domains" on the second day of Egypt’s Economic Conference.

He pointed out that the number of beds in private hospitals went up by 68 percent, with the private sector reportedly owning 28 percent of the total number of hospital beds in the country in 2019.

The number of hospitals reached 2,700 nationwide with 15,356 intensive care beds, 3,452 operation rooms, 5,986 nurseries and 120,606 doctors who are assisted by a large number of nursing staff.

During the session, he reviewed the health ministry's plans, shedding light on partnerships with the private sector to provide better medical services.

He said that the health sector in Egypt needs to add 4,000 beds every year until 2030, at an estimated cost of EGP 40-60 billion annually to meet the needs of the growing population.