Egypt leading country in eliminating HCV: Health minister

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Thu, 11 Jan 2018 - 12:35 GMT

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Thu, 11 Jan 2018 - 12:35 GMT

FILE - Minister of Health Ahmed Emad el-Din Rady

FILE - Minister of Health Ahmed Emad el-Din Rady

CAIRO – 11 January 2018: Health Minister Ahmed Emad el-Din said on Thursday during a symposium, entitled “Toward Elimination of Viral Hepatitis”, that Egypt is a leading country in eliminating Hepatitis C as the ministry follows an efficient system to combat it.

Emad el-Din added that the ministry has finished the waiting list, but comprehensive medical surveys should be conducted on citizens across Egypt. He pointed out that the ministry has already surveyed five million Egyptians.

The Ministry of Health has taken a $75-million loan from the World Bank to improve the efficiency of the health sector.

It is anticipated that Egypt will be hepatitis C free by 2022, announced Yehiya el-Shazly, president of the National Committee for Fighting Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infections, around a year ago.

The following are the steps that were already taken by the Health Ministry:

1- Seventy HCV governmental treatment centers and clinics have already been established across the country.

2- The Ministry of Health provides a three-month treatment course for only LE 1,500 ($84.78).

3- Two million citizens infected with HCV have already been treated, the Ministry of Health announced in December 2017.

4- Member of the National Committee for Fighting Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Yehiya el-Shazly, announced in February 2017 that the ministry has provided alternative treatment courses for 45,000 patients who went into remission.

5- Several field inspection campaigns were carried out in nine Upper Egypt governorates throughout 2017 in order to understand the scope of the spread of HCV and to consequently provide necessary controls to curb its prevalence.

6- The ministry also plans to conduct similar campaigns in the villages of the Nile Delta during the first three months of 2018.

7- The ministry's national strategy also includes issuing certificates for patients who are proven to be fully recovered.

8- The ministry is set to launch a massive campaign which will provide diagnoses for more than four million citizens.

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