World Health Organization: Egypt is on track to eliminate hepatitis C before 2030

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt is on track to meet the goal of eliminating hepatitis C before 2030, the date set as the global target for the disease, after a campaign to free millions of its citizens, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

Egypt launched an unprecedented campaign in October last year to screen millions of adult citizens and school students from the age of 12 to detect hepatitis C and treat them for free as part of its pledge to eradicate the disease by 2022.

Egyptian officials describe the spread of hepatitis C as one of the most serious health challenges in the country and say eliminating it is a priority.

"The campaign against hepatitis C (in Egypt) is the largest ever (globally). Now, based on verification, more than 60 million people have been screened since the program began," Adhanom told a news conference at the presidential residence after meeting President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Thursday. This constitutes more than 60% of the total population. "

proud
"I am very proud that Global Health has been a partner and WHO will continue this partnership until hepatitis C is eliminated in this country," Adhanom said.

He predicted that Egypt, based on its achievements so far, would succeed in eliminating hepatitis C well before 2030.

Adhanom handed the Egyptian president the results of a study conducted by the organization on the campaign, which confirms the validity of the figures announced by Egypt.

He also said his organization would work to transfer the Egyptian experience of fighting hepatitis C to other countries.

According to statistics obtained by Reuters from the Ministry of Health today, the initial test showed 2.2 million people infected with hepatitis "C", including about 1.5 million confirmed after having undergone a more accurate test known as "PCR".

The ministry has already started treating these patients free of charge, but said there is a group that will not work with them because of age and other diseases that prevent the treatment.

The World Bank
The World Bank is the main sponsor of the campaign under the slogan "100 million health". The Egyptian government contributed part of its budget and provided global health technical support.

According to a cabinet statement, the World Bank has provided $ 133 million to the screening campaign and $ 129 million to treat patients.

The World Bank says Egypt, which has a population of about 100 million people, has the highest rate of hepatitis C virus infections.

Before the start of the campaign, it was estimated that about 4.4% of Egypt's adult population was injured, according to a random survey.

The disease kills 40,000 Egyptians annually, making it the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.

The screening campaign, which was conducted in several stages, also included free tests to detect the main noncommunicable diseases, diabetes, hypertension and obesity, which account for about 70% of deaths.

Egyptians in general complain about poor health services, especially hospitals and government medical centers, but the campaign (100 million health) to eliminate hepatitis "C" and noncommunicable diseases has received international acclaim and the approval of many Egyptians.