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How Can Egypt Promote Medical Tourism?

The salt lake in Siwa Oasis, an example of medical tourism in Egypt. (Tourism Development Authority)
The salt lake in Siwa Oasis, an example of medical tourism in Egypt. (Tourism Development Authority)
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How Can Egypt Promote Medical Tourism?

The salt lake in Siwa Oasis, an example of medical tourism in Egypt. (Tourism Development Authority)
The salt lake in Siwa Oasis, an example of medical tourism in Egypt. (Tourism Development Authority)

As part of Egypt’s efforts to promote medical tourism, the government has made serious steps in this field. The Ministry of Health and Population recently announced it was planning to launch an electronic platform to provide medical tourism services within three months.

Ministry of Health and Population Spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar stated on Monday that Egypt intends to become among the world’s top five countries in medical tourism and targets 10 percent of the global medical tourism revenues.

The announcement came few days after Egyptian Minister of Health and Population Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar directed the Supreme Committee for Medical Tourism to swiftly complete the electronic platform and to work with all sectors to level up the medical tourism services.

The minister also indicated that Egypt is qualified for this type of tourism, with its developed health facilities and distinguished doctors, as well as its ambitious plan and vision to be on the international map of medical tourism.

Egypt aims for $14 billion in revenues from the medical tourism sector by the end of 2023, compared to $12.2 billion in 2022, and $8.9 billion in 2021.

Tourism expert Mohammad Farouk told Asharq Al-Awsat that the platform is “highly important”, noting that Egypt has a remarkable experience and good reputation around the world, and that promoting this reputation through the platform would bring significant revenues to Egypt.

Farouk added that some economies, such as India, rely on medical tourism but Egypt suffers from negligence and lacks the mechanisms that enable it to compete in this sector despite the expertise and its highly-equipped hospitals.

He said that many experts and entrepreneurs have called for years to improve medical tourism, noting that the government should have a clear vision to exploit the available resources in this type of tourism. He also highlighted a previous study reporting that medical tourism in Egypt could generate $20 to $25 billion yearly.

Tourism expert Bashar Abu Taleb, head of the Red Sea Tour Guides Syndicate, applauded the idea of the platform and the role it will play in promoting the Egyptian medical products and services around the world. He also described it as a step that keeps up with the digital evolution and the efforts many countries are making in this field.

Abu Taleb said Egypt has remarkable potentials in this industry, such as beaches, sands and weather, but it needs more publicity and better logistics.

The tourism expert highlighted that many hotels and resorts in the Red Sea have integrated hospitals and medical centers in their facilities in the past few years, noting that these experiences proved successful in Hurghada, for example, to which German older tourists flock to seek medical care.

Abu Taleb said the Siwa Oasis in the western desert is known for its therapeutic sands and salt lakes, in addition to sulfur baths in Oyun Musa. Egypt is also known for alternative medicine like herbal medicine, which guarantees unusual therapeutic programs that can be widely promoted on the platform.

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Developing Nations Blast $300 Bln COP29 Climate Deal as Insufficient

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev walks during a closing plenary meeting at the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev walks during a closing plenary meeting at the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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Developing Nations Blast $300 Bln COP29 Climate Deal as Insufficient

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev walks during a closing plenary meeting at the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev walks during a closing plenary meeting at the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Countries at the COP29 summit in Baku adopted a $300 billion a year global finance target on Sunday to help poorer nations cope with impacts of climate change, a deal its intended recipients criticized as woefully insufficient.

The agreement, clinched in overtime at the two-week conference in Azerbaijan's capital, was meant to provide momentum for international efforts to curb global warming in a year destined to be the hottest on record.

Some delegates gave the deal a standing ovation in the COP29 plenary hall. Others lambasted wealthy nations for not doing more and criticized the Azerbaijan host for hurriedly gaveling through the contentious plan.

"I regret to say that this document is nothing more than an optical illusion," Indian delegation representative Chandni Raina told the closing session of the summit, minutes after the deal was gaveled in. "This, in our opinion, will not address the enormity of the challenge we all face. Therefore, we oppose the adoption of this document."

United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell acknowledged the difficult negotiations that led to the agreement but hailed the outcome as an insurance policy for humanity against global warming.

"It has been a difficult journey, but we've delivered a deal," Stiell said. "This deal will keep the clean energy boom growing and protect billions of lives.

"But like any insurance policy, it only works if the premiums are paid in full, and on time."

The agreement would provide $300 billion annually by 2035, boosting rich countries' previous commitment to provide $100 billion per year in climate finance by 2020. That earlier goal was met two years late, in 2022, and expires in 2025.

The deal also lays the groundwork for next year's climate summit, to be held in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil, where countries are meant to map out the next decade of climate action.

The summit cut to the heart of the debate over financial responsibility of industrialized countries - whose historic use of fossil fuels has caused the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions - to compensate others for worsening damage from climate change.

It also laid bare divisions between wealthy governments constrained by tight domestic budgets and developing nations reeling from costs of storms, floods and droughts.

Negotiations had been due to finish on Friday but ran into overtime as representatives from nearly 200 countries struggled to reach consensus. Talks were interrupted on Saturday as some developing countries and island nations walked away in frustration.

"We are leaving with a small portion of the funding climate-vulnerable countries urgently need. It isn’t nearly enough, but it’s a start," said Tina Stege, Marshall Islands climate envoy.

Nations have been seeking financing to deliver on the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels - beyond which catastrophic climate impacts could occur.

The world is currently on track for as much as 3.1 C (5.6 F) of warming by the end of this century, according to the 2024 UN Emissions Gap report, with global greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuels use continuing to rise.

Sunday's deal failed to set out detailed steps for how countries will act on last year's UN climate summit pledge to transition away from fossil fuels and triple renewable energy capacity this decade.

WHAT COUNTS AS DEVELOPED NATION?

The roster of countries required to contribute - about two dozen industrialized countries, including the US, European nations and Canada - dates back to a list decided during UN climate talks in 1992.

European governments have demanded others pay in, including China, the world's second-biggest economy. The deal encourages developing countries to make contributions but does not require them.

The agreement includes a broader goal of raising $1.3 trillion in climate finance annually by 2035 - which would include funding from all public and private sources and which economists say matches the sum needed to address global warming.

Countries also agreed on rules for a global market to buy and sell carbon credits that proponents say could mobilize billions more dollars into new projects to fight global warming, from reforestation to deployment of clean energy technologies.

Securing the climate finance deal was a challenge from the start.

Donald Trump's US presidential election victory this month has raised doubts among some negotiators that the world's largest economy would pay into any climate finance goal agreed in Baku. Trump, a Republican who takes office in January, has called climate change a hoax and promised to again remove the US from international climate cooperation.

President Joe Biden congratulated the COP29 participants for reaching what he called an historic agreement that would help mobilize needed funds, but said more work was needed.

"While there is still substantial work ahead of us to achieve our climate goals, today’s outcome puts us one significant step closer. On behalf of the American people and future generations, we must continue to accelerate our work to keep a cleaner, safer, healthier planet within our grasp," Biden said in a statement.

Western governments have seen global warming slip down the list of national priorities amid surging geopolitical tensions, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and expanding conflict in the Middle East, and rising inflation.

The showdown over financing for developing countries comes in a year scientists predict will be the hottest on record. Climate woes are stacking up, with widespread flooding killing thousands across Africa, deadly landslides burying villages in Asia, and drought in South America shrinking rivers.

Developed countries have not been spared. Torrential rain triggered floods in Valencia, Spain, last month that left more than 200 dead, and the US so far this year has registered 24 billion-dollar disasters - just four fewer than last year.