Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, announced on Sunday the launch of the first phase of the president’s initiative for the early detection of cancerous tumours (lung, prostate, colon, and cervix) free of charge, under the slogan “100 million health.”
Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, explained that the first phase of the initiative includes nine governorates: Alexandria, Beheira, Matrouh, Damietta, Qalyubia, Fayoum, Assiut, South Sinai, and Port Said. He added that work on the initiative is being launched in all governorates of the republic.
Abdel Ghaffar noted that the initiative targets citizens aged 18 years and over, with the aim of detecting the disease in its early stages, reducing deaths resulting from it, and reducing the financial burden in late cases. To obtain the initiative’s services, citizens must go to a health unit and fill out an electronic questionnaire that includes questions about the pathological symptoms of all tumours included in the initiative. Based on the result of the questionnaire, the target disease is known to the citizen.
After knowing the disease targeted for detection by the citizen, they are transferred to hospitals operating within the initiative to conduct x-rays and necessary laboratory tests. In case of a negative examination, the citizen is informed of periodic follow-ups of their health condition according to the type of tumour targeted for detection. In case of a positive case, the patient is presented to a multidisciplinary committee to decide on the required treatment.
Abdel Ghaffar further pointed out that work on the initiative and referral of patients is done through an electronic system that links health units, medical convoys, and hospitals with the electronic system of the questionnaire to facilitate citizens’ access to the initiative’s services.
