Socio-Economic Inequalities in the Egyptian Health Care System: Analyzing Reproductive and Maternal Health Services Coverage

Egypt has witnessed significant progress in reproductive and maternal health in the last two decades. However, this improvement was not equally enjoyed by all population groups, with the wealthiest benefiting more than the poorest, who suffer from a gap in access to health care services. The purpose of this study is to measure inequalities in Egyptian reproductive and maternal health services coverage among various wealth and income groups. In order to achieve this, a quantitative analysis of absolute and relative inequalities in four reproductive and maternal health service coverage indicators was conducted. The study utilized data from the 2014 Demographic and Health Survey of Egypt. The results in general show inequalities in favor of the wealthiest population group. They suggest that reproductive and maternal health care services in Egypt are not pro-poor, and that current inequalities are caused by disparities in health system inputs in terms of facilities, human resources and financing. The study ends by recommending measures to alleviate these inequalities. It advocates for increasing governmental health expenditures, implementing a comprehensive health insurance scheme, and adopting a fair geographical distributive policy regarding health facilities, human resources, and financing.