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WHO set to announce Egypt’s success in eradicating hepatitis C

Agency Report — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 08:19:30 +0000

Egypt is set to become one of the first countries in the world to be declared free of hepatitis C, according to a World Health Organization official.

Naima Al-Qaseer, the WHO’s representative for Egypt, said the North African nation had submitted papers declaring it was free of the disease and an announcement would be made by the Geneva-based health organization in the coming weeks, Egypt’s official news agency reported.

“We are also working with the Egyptian Health Ministry to complete the requirements and fill all gaps as soon as possible so that we can make the announcement,” she said.

Egypt had worked “extensively and intensively” to become free of hepatitis C through a presidential initiative known as “100 Million Healthy Lives,” which had received global praise, she added.

FASTFACTS

• Egypt has worked extensively and intensively to become free of hepatitis C through a presidential initiative known as ‘100 Million Healthy Lives,’ which had received global praise.

• According to data from the Health Ministry, Egypt has achieved a recovery rate of nearly 99 percent for hepatitis C in recent years.

• Egypt’s success in developing effective medicines hasresulted in the cost of treatment falling to $100 per patient.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said this week at the opening of the “Second African Medical Conference and Exhibition” that the announcement would be made in the coming weeks.

According to data from the Health Ministry, Egypt has achieved a recovery rate of nearly 99 percent for hepatitis C in recent years.

Its success in developing effective medicines had resulted in the cost of treatment falling to $100 per patient, from $64,000 in 2013, saving the state more than $2.5 billion, Ahmed El-Sayed, who works for the Egyptian Drug Authority, told Arab News.

He said a campaign launched in 2014 by the Egyptian government to detect and treat hepatitis C — which led to more than 60 million people being examined and 4 million being treated — had been pivotal in the country achieving its success in defeating the disease.

The government invested $442.5 million in the campaign, with a further $530 million coming from the World Bank, he said.

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Palestinian peace hopes rise after Egypt talks

Special Correspondent — Tue, 14 Sep 2021 04:45:36 +0000

Hopes rose on Monday of progress in the Palestinian peace process after landmark new talks between the leaders of Egypt and Israel.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh for discussions that focused on Palestinian-Israeli relations. It was the first official visit to Egypt by an Israeli head of government for a decade.

The two leaders discussed “efforts to revive the peace process” between the Palestinians and Israelis, presidential spokesman Bassam Radi said. El-Sisi “affirmed Egypt’s support for all efforts to achieve comprehensive peace in the Middle East, according to the two-state solution,” he said.

Bennett said the talks also covered diplomacy, security and the economy. “We created a foundation for a deep connection going forward,” he said.

Bennett and El-Sisi also discussed regional issues, including Iran’s influence in the Middle East and the crisis in Lebanon, diplomats and security sources said.

The meeting followed a proposal on Sunday by Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to improve living conditions in Gaza and build new infrastructure in exchange for a period of calm from Hamas, aiming to solve the “never-ending rounds of violence.”

But “it won’t happen without the support and involvement of our Egyptian partners and without their ability to talk to everyone involved,” Lapid said.

Bennett’s visit also came less than two weeks after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Cairo for talks with El-Sisi.

Monday’s talks were “an important step in light of the growing security and economic relations between the two countries, and their mutual concern over the situation in Gaza,” said Nael Shama, an analyst in Cairo. It also fitted with “Egypt’s plans to revive the political talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority,” he said.

Bennett’s visit coincided with a boost to transport links between Egypt and Israel. The Taba crossing between Israel and Sinai, an entry point for Israeli tourists, became fully operational from Monday as restrictions put in place during the coronavirus pandemic were lifted, Israel’s Transport Ministry said.
And from October, Egyptair will begin operating several flights a week between Cairo and Tel Aviv.

The last official visit by an Israeli prime minister to Egypt was when Benjamin Netanyahu met former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm El-Sheikh in January 2011, just before the uprising that toppled Mubarak.

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