By Mahmoud Hosny Radwan –
The Universal Health Insurance System was supposed to be implemented in Alexandria beginning on July 1, 2026. This was announced by the Prime Minister himself. But Dr. Mostafa Madbouly failed to keep his promise, and instead the state announced the construction of another huge, luxurious new mosque.
Does Alexandria really need more mosques?
In Alexandria, you do not need to look for a mosque—the mosque comes looking for you. There is a mosque in every government authority, a mosque in every school, a mosque in every hospital, a mosque in every company, a mosque at the railway station, and a mosque in the market. Under every apartment building there is a zawiya [small prayer room], and on every street there is more than one. When the street fills up, the sidewalks themselves are turned into prayer spaces. At prayer time, restaurants and cafés become temporary mosques, and prayer rugs are spread out on the asphalt.
This is no exaggeration. This is the reality that every Alexandrian sees every day.
Yet the governorate has announced a new project: an Islamic cultural complex next to Sidi Gaber Station, accommodating 1,800 worshippers, with a parking garage underneath for 400 cars, supposedly to meet the needs of the area.
The simple question is: Do the people of Alexandria need another mosque—or do they need better healthcare?
This is the reality:
First: As mentioned above, Alexandria has thousands of licensed and unlicensed mosques and zawiyas. The Ministry of Awqaf itself is closing and consolidating small zawiyas because their number has gotten out of control. In a single neighborhood such as Sidi Gaber, Asafra, or Moharram Bek, you can pray in five different mosques on the same street!
Second: Mosques are always empty except during Friday prayers and the Tarawih prayers in Ramadan. During the five daily prayers, mosques and zawiyas are virtually empty—one or two rows of worshippers at most, and they are the same familiar faces. We keep building places for prayer that cannot find people to pray in them throughout the week!
Third: Every place has been turned into a mosque. A mosque is no longer a purpose-built structure possessing sanctity and proper planning. Any vacant space has become a potential mosque project. A garage becomes a zawiya. A storeroom becomes a prayer room. A sidewalk is covered with prayer rugs at sunset prayer. A restaurant hangs up a sign saying, “Prayer Area.”
This is not religiosity. This is urban chaos. Religiosity should not be measured by the number of minarets, but by the quality of the services provided to people!
Meanwhile, try finding a family-healthcare unit that functions efficiently, an available intensive-care bed, or a free medical test without standing in queues.
A governorate with a population exceeding six million remains outside the Universal Health Insurance System, which began in 2019.
Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly’s Own Statements:
1. July 14, 2025: During a tour of Alexandria, he affirmed his support for partnership with the private sector and civil society to bring Alexandria into the system through specialized clinics using artificial intelligence, and requested an implementation plan as quickly as possible.
2. October 30, 2025: He directed that the necessary steps be taken to implement the system in Alexandria beginning with the next fiscal year, 2025/2026.
3. November 27, 2025: He announced that the second phase would bring approximately 18 million additional citizensinto the system.
4. December 2025: “There are directives from President Sisi to accelerate the implementation of the system throughout all regions of the Republic. We have five governorates in the second phase, and we are also studying the inclusion of Alexandria Governorate.”
5. The scale of investment was specified: “Investments of EGP 115 billion in five governorates,” he said, adding: “We are seeking to add Alexandria Governorate, making it the sixth governorate in addition to the five—Matrouh, Kafr El-Sheikh, Minya, Damietta, and North Sinai.”
6. February–May 2026: There was discussion about the need to ensure financial sustainability and prepare actuarial studies, while reiterating that Alexandria remained under consideration.
7. August 2026: Follow-up on the digitization process, which had reached 85 percent, and the beginning of trial operations in Minya—but no announcement of actual implementation in Alexandria.
The irony is that the Prime Minister himself said that the reason Alexandria was being followed up was the “readiness of the governorate’s private medical sector to participate in this system and support its operation.”
In other words, Alexandria’s private hospitals are ready. The doctors are there. The infrastructure exists.
What is missing is the decision.
Indeed, according to a January 2026 statement by the head of the Therapeutic Institution, procedures for approving the budget needed for preparations were not even scheduled to begin until July 1, 2026.
The Simple Calculation: A Mosque or a Healthcare Unit?
A complex accommodating 1,800 worshippers, with a 400-car garage underneath it, under full engineering supervision (by the Army’s Engineering Corps) and with luxurious finishes, would in reality cost hundreds of millions of Egyptian pounds.
The same amount would be sufficient to upgrade and accredit 20 family-healthcare units, each serving 20,000 citizens.
That means 400,000 people could have had access to decent healthcare.
The mosque, accommodating 1,800 worshippers in an area that already has dozens of mosques, will remain empty during four of the five daily prayers. A single family-healthcare unit, meanwhile, would operate from eight in the morning until eight at night—and there would never be an empty seat in its waiting room.
Religion is not measured by the number of minarets. Religion means that a sick person can obtain medicine; that a mother can find a safe place to give birth; and that an elderly person can obtain medical tests without having to beg anyone for help.
Conclusion
We ask:
How long will we continue building mosques upon mosques and zawiyas upon zawiyas, until the streets themselves have become mosques—while a single sick person cannot find a hospital bed?
Mr. Prime Minister: Alexandria needs the Universal Health Insurance System implemented now, immediately—not more mosques.
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