Egypt has the highest prevalence of hepatitis C (14.7% of the population), high rates of obesity and hypertension (17.6% of the adult population) and endemic poverty.

Non-communicable diseases such as cancers, diabetes, obesity and chronic respiratory diseases have become more widespread in recent years in Egypt than communicable diseases, as is illustrated in figure 2. Non-communicable diseases are not only more rampant but also more costly to treat. The incidence of diabetes has risen considerably in recent years. Presently, an estimated 16.5 million people in Egypt are diabetic, ranking it 9th in the world