Egypt is making strong progress towards becoming the leading healthcare and pharmaceutical centre in the Middle East and North Africa. This vision was front and centre at the Africa Health ExCon 2026, which recently concluded in Cairo. Through increasing local manufacturing of advanced medicines and playing a leading role in health regulations across Africa, Egypt is positioning itself as a key pillar of African health independence. Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli said that over the past few years, Egypt has been working hard to strengthen its health and pharmaceutical sectors. The main goals are to achieve medical self-sufficiency and boost local production. He emphasized that the future of healthcare should move away from simply treating diseases towards promoting overall well-being. Instead of reacting to health problems, the focus should shift to prevention, early detection, innovation, and digital transformation. Madbouli noted that Egypt has the people, the scientific expertise, and the investment opportunities needed to make this happen. Under President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s leadership, Egypt will keep supporting health cooperation across the continent, sharing knowledge, building capabilities, and bringing more medical manufacturing to the country. “Investing in health is an investment in human capital, sustainable development, and national stability,” the prime minister said. By 2026, Egypt’s health sector had moved into a more advanced phase. This includes bigger investments, higher exports, deeper local manufacturing, and stronger international partnerships. The prime minister told the conference that the sector is no longer just building capacity, but is now ready to compete in global markets. Egypt’s pharmaceutical industry has grown significantly in recent years. New investments in factories and production lines, along with expanded output of biopharmaceuticals, cancer drugs, vaccines, and medical supplies, have driven this boom. According to a recent report from the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA), the country reached 91.3% self-sufficiency in medicines during the first quarter of 2026. The report also highlighted that Egypt’s health and pharma market hit EGP 422 billion in 2026, showing strong national demand. Egypt now has the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing base in the MENA region, with more than 179 factories and 986 production lines. This greatly reduces dependence on imported medicines and ensures a steady supply of essential drugs. Former head of the Universal Health Insurance System in Benha, Dr Hassan Tawfik, said that pharmaceutical security is no longer just an economic matter. “It has become part of national security,” he told The Gazette. He explained that the Covid-19 pandemic and later global health crises showed how important it is for countries to have strong local production so they can always access the medicines and healthcare products their people need. Egypt is currently the only African country to have earned the World Health Organisation’s Maturity Level 3 certification for regulating both medicines and vaccines. Pharmaceutical exports have also grown strongly, crossing the $1 billion mark, for the first time. Official figures show exports reached about $1.3 billion in 2025, up from $1.079 billion in 2024. The target is to reach between $1.6 billion and $1.7 billion by the end of 2026, and $3 billion by 2030. Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Industry Chamber at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, Ahmed El Ezaby, said the rise in exports shows that Egyptian products have improved in quality and are now better able to compete in regional and international markets. “The sector has strong potential for further growth in Africa and the Middle East in the coming years, thanks to rising demand and Egypt’s expanding industrial capabilities,” El Ezaby said. The post Egypt becoming MENA’s healthcare, pharma powerhouse appeared first on Egyptian Gazette.
