The annual newborns in Egypt are 2.5 million children and 20% of them need NICU (approximately 500,000 per year), while all of Egypt had in all hospitals owned by the Ministry of Health and university hospitals no more than 4,000 NICUs, which lead that a proportion of these children are not receiving medical service in that critical time.
-NICU are one of the most important medical supplies to serve newborns and to survive, and the severe shortage of it makes 20% of newborns are in desperate need for it. We found that 16 out of every 1,000 newborns up to a month in Egypt have a death due to the shortage in NICUs.
-The average cost of NICU in Egypt ranges from EGP 1000 to 2000 per day, which is considered a high cost for low-income people, while free governmental hospitals cannot accommodate all the needs of premature babies in Upper Egypt and deprived areas.
– EWD is in process to establish an NICU in Nagaa Hamady in Qena governorate that will serve an estimate of 50 infants/month.