CAIRO – 30 September 2018: Minister of Health Hala Zayed announced that Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s campaign to detect and treat hepatitis C and chronic diseases will be launched on Monday, October 1.
Addressing a press conference held at the Cabinet headquarters on Sunday, the health and population minister said the campaign aims at eliminating hepatitis C from Egypt and reducing fatalities from chronic diseases.
Zayed said that testing for hepatitis C will start on October 1, and will end in April 2019, adding that patients will receive treatment for one to one and a half year, to announce Egypt free from the blood borne disease by 2020 or 2021.
The minister reviewed the timetable of the campaign which will be implemented in three phases each covering a number of governorates.
Citizens above 18 years of age of both sexes will be targeted during the first phase, she said, adding that they will test for hepatitis C, diabetes and hypertension. Height and weight of citizens will also be measured for obesity as part of the campaign which will provide free treatment, she added.
The campaign will be carried out through various surveillance points at health care units, Health Ministry hospitals, mobile clinics and other health facilities nationwide, Zayed explained, revealing that 1412 units will receive examinees in nine governorates.
Zayed pointed out that 888 cases tested positive during a test for the initiative that was carried out on Saturday. She added that a specialized chamber in the ministry has been established a month ago to find out the population-dense areas and the outcome of the campaigns, affirming that the citizens’ data are fully secured.
As part of the president’s initiative, Manal al-Sayed, a member of Egypt’s National Committee for the Control of Viral Hepatitis, said that school children between 12 to 18 years old, will undergo the early detection tests starting March 2019.
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