President El-Sisi Meets with PM, Minister of Health and Officials

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met today with Prime Minister, Minister of Health, Advisor to the President for Health and Prevention Affairs, Chairman of the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement, General Manager of the International Medical Center, and Director of the Medical Services Department of the Armed Forces.

The Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency stated that, during the meeting, they followed up on efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus, preparations for any possible second wave of the pandemic, and the precautionary measures taken to start the new academic year.

President El-Sisi gave directives for taking all preventive measures, in coordination between the Ministry of Health and other various bodies for ensuring the highest levels of safety for students and education staff during the new academic year.

The President also emphasized on intensifying awareness campaigns to deal with the spread of coronavirus, giving special attention to the relevant precautionary measures and the state’s general plan in this respect. The President also gave directives for ensuring the provision of all necessary medical supplies to assist the health care personnel and help them fully perform their duties.

The Minister of Health presented the state’s efforts to combat the effects of the coronavirus crisis since its global outbreak. She also emphasized on the fact that Egypt has made many processes a success nationwide despite the coronavirus pandemic, especially conducting Thanaweya Amma exams, holding the Senate elections, and securing tourist villages, airports and seaports. This has been achieved by having an integrated system that included developing hospitals, establishing mobile clinics, adopting early detection, isolation and coexistence measures, providing the necessary diagnostic tests, and continuously updating medical treatment protocols.

The Spokesman stated that the results of implementing various presidential initiatives over the past two years as part of the state’s efforts to improve public health have been presented during the meeting. These initiatives are launched under the umbrella of “100 Million Healthy Lives”, especially with regard to eradicating HCV and other chronic diseases.

In this context, President El-Sisi called for making further efforts to promote the presidential initiatives in the field of health, since they have had direct positive impact on the health of citizens and the medical personnel and infrastructure in Egypt. Moreover, these initiatives have helped improve health indicators, thus contributing to containing the spread of the coronavirus in Egypt through early diagnosis and treatment of many chronic diseases.

The state’s current efforts to develop coronavirus vaccines, in cooperation with various international bodies and major international medical companies, were also presented. It was also noted that clinical trials are now in phase III. The efforts made by the Ministry of Health to communicate with citizens via smart applications and social media were presented.

The President also was briefed on the matter of the Egyptian medical aid provided to Lebanon and Iraq as well as to several African countries within the framework of the presidential initiative aimed to provide HCV treatment to 1 million African citizens.