Dr. Mohamed Hassany, Assistant Minister of Health for Public Health Initiatives, announced that Egypt’s presidential public health initiatives have provided more than 240 million healthcare services to over 93 million citizens since 2018. The Women’s Health Initiative alone has delivered more than 70 million services, benefiting over 23 million women.
The announcement was made during a press conference organized by the Ministry of Health and Population to highlight the country's progress in improving breast cancer care and to announce the inclusion of immunotherapy in the treatment protocols of the President’s Women’s Health Initiative, in cooperation with a private company.
Dr. Hassany said the initiative has helped detect 40,000 breast cancer cases, with 80% diagnosed at an early stage, significantly improving recovery rates. He added that the average time between diagnosis and the start of treatment has been reduced from 180–280 days to just 49 days, while the proportion of late-stage cases has declined from 60% to 19.5%.
Dr. Tamer El-Husseiny, Vice Chairman of the Egyptian Drug Authority, highlighted the agency’s efforts to accelerate the registration and evaluation of innovative therapies to ensure patients gain timely access to high-quality treatments. Meanwhile, Dr. Mohamed El-Akkad, Director General of the Specialized Medical Councils, reviewed efforts to unify treatment protocols and develop a standardized clinical guideline.
Dr. Hesham El-Ghazaly, Chairman of the initiative’s Scientific Committee, noted that the program has established Egypt’s largest national breast cancer database. Dr. Hatem Amin, Executive Director of the initiative, emphasized that treatment is provided free of charge to all patients.
For her part, Dr. Radwa Emam, Director General of Health Awareness and Promotion Programs at the General Authority for Healthcare, affirmed the authority’s commitment to expanding the initiative’s services across facilities operating under Egypt’s Universal Health Insurance System.
Source: Al-Ahram official website.
