Egypt sends 21 tons of baby formula to Sudan, to treat 150K Sudanese hepatitis C patients

CAIRO – 15 August 2020: Egypt sent Sudan 21 tons of baby formula on Friday, and is preparing a shipment of children medicines that weighs 1.325 tons, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population Khaled Megahed revealed Saturday.

Megahed added that a medical team consisting of medical consultants, pharmacists and lab specialists will arrive in Sudan Monday. That is within an initiative by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to treat one million Africans from hepatitis C. In that context, Egypt will also send two PCR test devices, 10,000 testing kits, and a shipment of medicines that are enough to provide treatment to 150,000 Sudanese citizens.

The labs of Ibna Sina Hospital and the Police Medical Complex will be developed as they will be part of five hospitals that will offer medical services pertinent to the initiative. The other three are Suba Medical Center, Om Dorman Medical Center, and Al Aliaa Medical Center.

The medical team will stay in Sudan for 15 days to carry out check-ups and provide free treatment to patients with confirmed infections. It will also train Sudanese medical staff on conducting tests designed to detect liver diseases, evaluating the conditions of different patients, and applying the treatment protocols.

Minister Hala Zayed accompanies Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli in his visit to the neighboring state that began Saturday and that is held to discuss possible fields for mutual cooperation.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi's campaign for the early detection and free treatment of hepatitis C was honored in February by the World Health Organization (WHO) which expressed desire to transfer the experience to the world.

Famed billionaire Bill Gates sent a letter to Minister of Health Hala Zayed expressing his desire to study the 100 Million Healthy Lives initiative. He aims to learn the mechanisms of developing the Egyptian health system as well as the systems through which citizens are registered.

Gates targets transferring this successful experience to the countries where he implements charitable health projects.

For her part, Minister of Health Hala Zayed said that the ministry is keen to transfer its experiences that are supported by the political leaders to provide health services to all Egyptians as part of the comprehensive health insurance system.

Chairman of the National Committee for the Control of Hepatic Viruses Waheed Dos told Egypt today Saturday that 100 Million Healthy Lives initiative tested more than 50 million people and treated 4 million people for free.

He also said that the ministry cares about infected children with hepatitis C as it treated more than 10,000 children across Egypt for free.

WHO representative in Egypt John Jabbour announced WHO's support to Egypt’s efforts to eliminate Hepatitis C among Africans via holding inter-regional consultations and through the cooperation of WHO offices across the continent.

Egypt’s initiative was launched in October 2018 under the auspices of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and ended in April 2019 after targeting more than 45 million citizens. The Health Ministry vowed to completely eliminate the disease from Egypt in 2022.

In a meeting held on May 27, President Sisi ordered intensifying efforts aimed to transfer Egypt's health and medical expertise to other African countries tocure1 million Africans. Sisi was updated on the Health Ministry’s planned visits to Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania to assess their medical needs.