FILE - Students line up on the first day of their new school year at a government school in Giza – Reuters
CAIRO - 7 March 2019: Egypt's Ministry of Health said that the second phase of the presidential initiative to test school students for dwarfism and obesity will start on Wednesday, and will target 4.5 million students in 11 governorates including Cairo.
In an interview with Egypt Today, Soheir Abdel Hamid, chairman of Egypt's General Authority for Health Insurance, said that this phase targets 9788 schools in the governorates of Cairo, Suez, Ismailia, Monoufia, Kafr El-Sheikh, BeniSuef, Sohag, Luxor, Aswan, Red Sea, and North Sinai.
Students who are suffering obesity or dwarfism are treated in the clinics of the General Authority for Health Insurance for free, Abdel Hamid added.
A nationwide campaign to screen school students was launched in February to determine the prevalence of obesity, anemia, and dwarfism. The announcement was made during a joint press conference by ministers of health and education.
Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed stated that the screening will target almost 12 million students - aged between 6 and 12 - at 22,000 public, private, and Azhar schools. She explained that the campaign will involve 4,420 medical teams and 225 clinics.
Zayed clarified that students who need treatment will be referred to a Health Insurance clinic, to receive a free service.
The minister added that the campaign will be executed over three phases, and that check-ups will take place after providing a written consent of a parent and the student’s birth certificate.
The first phase includes Fayoum, Damietta, Asyut, Matrouh, Port Said, South Sinai, Qalyubia, Beheira, Alexandria, Giza, and Qena, while the last phase will take place in Daqahliyah, Sharqeya, Gharbeya, Minya, and the New Valley.
The campaign is set to end on April 30.
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