Egypt: WHO welcomes support provided by Egypt to 14 African countries to fight against hepatitis C

Kampala, Uganda, June 19, 2019 – Egypt has announced that it will provide testing and treatment for hepatitis C to one million people in 14 African countries.

Speaking at the opening of the African Summit on Hepatitis 2019, currently underway in Kampala, Uganda, HE Dr. Hala Zaid, Egyptian Minister of Health and Population, said that this initiative would be implemented with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). The initiative will be undertaken in countries heavily affected by hepatitis: Burundi, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, South Sudan and Tanzania .

The Minister said: "Egypt is committed to providing technical support, expertise and testing software, as well as free care to one million of our African brothers and sisters with hepatitis C for 3 months as part of our role on the continent.We follow the WHO guidelines for screening and treatment. "

Every year, in the African Region of WHO, more than 200,000 people die from liver disease related to hepatitis B and hepatitis C, including cirrhosis and liver cancer. More than 10 million people in the Region are infected with hepatitis C, possibly because of unsafe injecting practices in health facilities or communities. Sixty million people, or one in 15 people in the Region were living with chronic hepatitis B infection in 2015.

"We welcome this South-South cooperation and support to the countries of our region originating from Egypt," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. "Viral hepatitis C is a growing health problem in the Region, which has been ignored for too long.With the generous support of Egypt, we can reverse the pace of this epidemic."

Egypt is experiencing one of the world's largest outbreaks of hepatitis C, with nearly 40,000 deaths each year from liver failure and liver cancers associated with this disease. This new initiative follows an ambitious Egyptian campaign dubbed "100 million healthier lives" that began in October 2018. More than 60 million Egyptians have been screened for hepatitis C and assessed for noncommunicable diseases. Representatives from the campaign are participating in the Summit to share lessons learned from the Intensive Health Initiative.

In May 2016, 194 Member States around the world committed to eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030 (90% reduction in the number of new cases and 65% in the number of deaths).

"Although viral hepatitis remains a common threat to public health in the WHO regions of Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, it represents an opportunity for inter-regional collaboration." I am delighted to see the epidemic. Egypt expand its successful initiative to eliminate hepatitis C on its continent, promising for our goal of health for all by all, "said Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the eastern Mediterranean.