World Bank's newly appointed Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, Hartwig Schafer has arrived in Cairo early Sunday for talks on the projects set up between Egypt and the bank in the health and transport domains. Schafer, who will remain here for several days, visited Egypt at the beginning of this month to take part in a seminar on the medical insurance system development project. The project, financed by the bank, aims at expanding the umbrella of the medical insurance to include 750,000 new beneficiaries from poor people in Upper Egypt and the Red Sea. From 1996 till 2005, the WB financed many health projects in Egypt, including fighting schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzias). The World Bank helps administer development projects in Egypt. Currently, the Bank is managing a total of 17 projects through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. For these projects, it has committed a total of US$3.8 billion, according to the World Bank website. The projects in Egypt are aimed at helping develop the power, transport, financial, agriculture and social sectors, and at helping improve water, sanitation and the environment.
