Egyptian court orders health insurer to provide child with automated insulin pump

The ruling requires Egypt’s Health Insurance Authority to supply a young girl with a G-780 insulin pump, replacement parts and monthly consumables, reinforcing the state’s duty to provide medically necessary treatment.

An Egyptian administrative court has ordered the Health Insurance Authority to provide an automated insulin pump, replacement parts and monthly supplies for a young girl with diabetes, in a ruling that reinforces the state’s duty to ensure access to essential treatment for children.

According to the case file reported by Veto Gate, the Administrative Court’s first circuit annulled the authority’s refusal to supply the G-780 pump, together with its sensor, spare parts and ongoing consumables. The lawsuit had been brought against the heads of the national health insurance body and its Dakahlia branch, after the child’s family sought to overturn what the court described as a negative administrative decision.

In its reasoning, the court said the medical documents showed that the girl had diabetes and suffered repeated drops in blood sugar. It said her condition required regular insulin administration and that the automated pump would allow continuous monitoring and self-adjusting doses, reducing the need for constant intervention by her family. The court concluded that withholding the device and its accessories violated her right to treatment and health care, and it cited the Egyptian constitution’s guarantees of health care and the state’s obligation to protect public health services.

The ruling fits a broader pattern in Egyptian administrative jurisprudence on access to diabetes care. El Watan News reported a similar judgment requiring the Health Insurance Authority to supply an insulin pump to a child with type 1 diabetes, while Cairo 24 and Al-Masry Al-Youm have reported earlier decisions ordering the provision of insulin and related supplies for students with diabetes. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights also said the case reflects the constitutional right to health and the duty of public authorities to provide medically necessary treatment when it has been proven to be needed.