Egypt’s Minister of Health Hala Zayed on Sunday launched a new initiative from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi providing the early detection and free treatment of diseases transferred from pregnant women to their fetuses.
Dubbed “To care for mother and fetus health”, the initiative covers diseases such as Hepatitis B, HIV and syphilis among pregnant women and aims to drastically reduce deaths, according to Health Ministry Spokesperson Khaled Megahed.
The initiative currently covers the governorates of Cairo, Alexandria, Fayoum and Qalyubiya.
Megahed added that the ministry has trained 5,381 medical team since February 2019, with 51 centers allocated to treat syphilis and 121 centers to treat Hepatitis B and HIV – while high blood sugar cases will be taken to any of the ministry’s 303 hospitals.
A database has been established by the ministry linked with the health facilities involved with this initiative, helping to facilitate the follow-up process and transfer patients to the nearest center, Megahed said.
According to Megahed, the second stage of this initiative will start in April, covering Matrouh, Damietta, Port Said, North Sinai, Suez, Ismailia, South Sinai, Red Sea, Assiut, Sohag, Kafr el-Sheikh and Menoufiya.
The third stage in June will cover Aswan, Luxor, Qena, Sharqiya, Daqahlia, Beheira, Gharbia, New Valley, Beni Suef, Giza and Minya.
Beneficiaries can check the dates of their medical examinations on the “100 Million Healthy Lives” initiative’s website and inquire about services through calling hotline 15335.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
