Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population announced on Saturday that more than 3.34 million surgeries have been performed under the presidential initiative to eliminate surgical backlogs and prevent new waiting lists since its launch in July 2018.
The initiative covers a wide range of critical medical procedures, including cardiac and orthopaedic surgeries, ophthalmology operations, tumour removals, cardiac and neurological catheterisations, kidney and liver transplants, cochlear implants and peripheral catheterisations.
Patients are centrally referred to participating hospitals to ensure the fastest possible access to treatment.
Health Ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel‑Ghaffar emphasised that all services provided under the initiative are free of charge, aiming to ease the burden on patients and guarantee access to urgent surgeries at the highest standards and within the shortest possible timeframe.
Ahmed Moustafa, Adviser to the Minister of Health for the initiative and Head of the Health Insurance Authority, said the ministry continues to enhance hospital efficiency through training programmes for medical personnel, upgrading equipment and developing an integrated electronic system to facilitate case tracking and patient referrals based on hospital capacity.
According to the spokesman, a total of 3,342,772 surgical procedures have been performed, while the initiative’s hotline has received 418,155 calls.
Around 391,018 cases have been monitored and followed up through the programme.
