Unveiling the Right to Health in Egypt: Exploring the Transformations and Challenges in Egyptian Constitutional Law and Policy

The political and social transformations Egypt has witnessed in recent decades have had an important impact on the right to health (RTH). The state’s role in health care has declined leading to a deterioration of public health services on which Egyptians mainly rely. The state’s guarantee of the components related to the RTH and the restructure of the medical care system represented one of the important demands related to social justice raised by the 2011 Revolution. This had an important impact in the Egyptian legal system by adopting a broader meaning of the RTH and turning health care into one of the rights guaranteed by the Egyptian Constitution with clear and specific constitutional obligations placed on the public authorities. Yet, it is still uncertain how the branches of government are going to actually fulfill these obligations.