Challenges facing the right to health in Egypt were explored during the workshop held on Tuesday, 2 March by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). The workshop brought together experts in the field of health and human rights, civil society activists, and public health professionals and academics to discuss the tools and strategies necessary for the full realization of the right to health, and to set priority areas for the effective implementation of the right in Egypt.

The workshop commenced with an introductory speech  by Mr. Hossam Bahgat, Executive Director of EIPR, and Dr. Abd El-Aziz Saleh, Professor of Pharmacy and Former Deputy Regional Director for WHO/EMRO. Dr. Saleh presented an overview of the drug pricing and registration system in Egypt and how it reflects on the effective implementation of the right to health. While Dr. Alaa Ghanaam, Director of the Right to Health Program at EIPR presented a case study on the current status of the health insurance system in Egypt and how it affects the citizens' right to health.

The crisis facing health care systems was discussed by Dr. Alaa Shukrallah, Chairman of the Association for Health and Environmental Development (AHED), who presented a historical overview of the development of the health system in Egypt. Discrimination against citizens based on their health status and how it affects access to health care was discussed by Dr. Ragia El-Gerzawy, Health and Discrimination Officer at EIPR. Dr. Dina Galal, Deputy Director of the Egyptian Society for Population Studies and Reproductive Health focused her presentation on the status of reproductive rights of females in Egypt and their access to health care services from a human rights perspective. While Dr. Amani Massoud, Deputy Director of the Right to Health Program at EIPR, presented a paper on health and human rights under international law.

The one day workshop witnessed a range of interventions and deliberations following the preliminary presentations and later, through the working group discussions, on how best to take forward the right to health with a special emphasis on the current efforts supporting the implementation of the right in Egypt.