70 % of deaths in Egypt are due to chronic diseases: WHO

CAIRO – 1 February 2020: About 70 percent of deaths in Egypt are due to chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, stress and cancer according to the World Health Organization official, Randa Abul-Naga.

She added that up to 40 million people die around the world from chronic diseases.

Abul-Naga hailed Egypt’s effort to control the spreading of chronic diseases especially through the presidential initiative to provide health care to people with chronic diseases all over the country.

She also indicated that there is a great challenge in providing health services to people with chronic diseases especially in the time of Coronaviruses.

Last October, Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed said that more than 10 million citizens have been examined, as part of the President's initiative to examine and treat people with chronic diseases.

The ministry said it has provided treatment to 1,385,199 citizens free of charge, including 388,170 cases suffering from hypertension and 419,000 cases suffering from diabetes.

The governorates that have recorded the highest turnout with regard to the initiative are Sharqiya, South Sinai, Ismailia, Menoufia, Assiut, Dakahlia and Damietta, Health ministry spokesman said.

The initiative aims to examine all citizens over the age of 40, representing around 28 million people, to treat those suffering from chronic diseases, the spokesman noted.

The services provided by the initiative include screening for chronic diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure and heart diseases. It also provides early detection of nephropathy for patients with chronic diseases, measures body mass index, and provides health education for those taking part in the initiative.

Egypt’s initiative “100 Million Healthy Lives” against hepatitis C was launched in October 2018 under the auspices of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and ended 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 gathering the representatives of nine World Health Organization (WHO) offices in Africa and the Middle East in Cairo, Egypt’s initiative “100 Million Healthy Lives” against hepatitis C was discussed to be applied in 18 African countries, WHO announced in a press conference July 2019

President Sisi ordered intensifying efforts aimed to transfer Egypt's health and medical expertise to other African countries for curing 1 million Africans. Sisi was updated on the Health Ministry’s planned visits to Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania to assess their medical needs.