WHO welcomes Egypt’s support to assist 14 African countries tackle Hepatitis C
By Doosuur Iwambe, Abuja
Egypt has announced that it would be providing hepatitis C testing and treatment for one million people in 14 African countries.
Speaking at the opening of the African hepatitis summit 2019, currently underway in Kampala, Uganda, the Egyptian Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Hala Zaid, stated that the initiative would be implemented with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The initiative will be undertaken in countries that bear a high hepatitis burden such as Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
The minister said that “Egypt has pledged to provide technical support, expertise and screening software, as well as free treatment for one million of our African sisters and brothers with hepatitis C for 3 months as part of our role on the continent. We are following the WHO screening and treatment guidelines.”
Meanwhile, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti has welcomed the move he described as welcome the south-south cooperation and support.
“Viral hepatitis C is a growing health challenge in the region that for too long has been largely ignored. With the generous support of Egypt we can turn this epidemic around,’’ he said.
In addition, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, said that he is delighted to see Egypt expanding its successful initiative in eliminating hepatitis C to its continent.
“While viral hepatitis remains a common public health threat in WHO’s African and Eastern Mediterranean regions, it represents an opportunity for cross-regional collaboration. I am delighted to see Egypt expanding its successful initiative in eliminating hepatitis C to its continent. This is indeed a promising step towards our goal of health for all by all,’’ he stated.
Egypt has one of the world’s largest hepatitis C epidemic with nearly 40, 000 people dying each year of liver failure and liver cancer associated with the disease.
The new initiative follows an ambitious Egyptian campaign, dubbed ‘100 million healthier lives’ which began in October 2018.
More than 60 million Egyptians have been screened for hepatitis C and assessed for non-communicable diseases. Representatives from the campaign are attending the Summit to share lessons learned from the intensive health initiative.
