Egypt is a resource poor area, where supportive care with hospice/ palliative care may be linked to the development of other services. We have taken the view that where a service is in the process of development from (largely) physical care to a broader form of holistic care that approximates to the WHO definition, it should be included in the review.

In Egypt, three organisations provide hospice/palliative care services (Table 1).

Table 1 Palliative care provision in Egypt 2005

The Cairo Evangelical Medical Society provides hospice facilities at the Cairo Evangelical Medical Hospital and at Elhadara Elromany, in Alexandria.

Dr Naguib Elnikhaily reports on the services at Cairo Evangelical Medical Hospice, developed and opened in 2001/2:

At first there were 4 beds, now 11; we have a waiting list, we may double the number of patients in each room. We also have a home care programme: ‘Care with Love’ and 2 outpatient clinics and are aiming for a day care service.²

In February 2005, in-patient numbers average 8 to 9. Naguib Elnikhaily has plans for up to three more projects in the south east of Cairo.³

The emphasis in government hospital oncology units is on pain relief. During 2004, however, palliative care became included in the oncology nursing programme at the National Cancer Institute (NCI).⁴