The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Since October of last year, and up until a few months ago, Egyptians were lining up at medical centres and mobile clinics to get tested for Hepatitis C. This was just one part of the nationwide campaign, “100 Million Healthy Lives”, to prevent and cure our people from the disease that has affected 150,000 people in Egypt annually between 201 and 2017, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), excluding the 3-4 million potential residents with undiagnosed HCV.

According to Ahram Online, the WHO verification report for the initiative, which Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom, delivered, analyses the scientific methods used in the processes of screenings, awareness, and provision of medical care to patients. The Director-General stated, “WHO supports initiatives to provide healthcare to Egyptian and African citizens, as the organisation is Egypt’s partner in implementing the 100 Million Healthy Lives initiative, as well as all initiatives aimed to address health problems in Egypt and Africa.” He also elaborated that the campaign was the largest of its kind in the world.

Comparing Egypt’s efforts to those of countries abroad with similar initiatives, Adhanom stressed on how our commitment towards the cause is what made us stand out.  He expressed his admiration for the government’s stargeting for early detection of breast and cervical cancer, where 2,600 women have been screened since the Women’s Health initiative began on the 1^st of July.

“WHO is proud to support the initiative, which was not limited to detecting hepatitis C, but also included screenings for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, blood pressure and others,” he added.

According to Egypt Today, the campaign that lasted between October 2018 and April has screened 45 million citizens for the blood-borne disease. We can’t wait until the 100 million mark is achieved for as many diseases as possible.