On International Women’s Day, the Presidential Initiative for Women’s Health, in cooperation with Novartis Oncology, held a press conference in the presence of renowned health experts to shed light on women’s essential role in society’s development and the health challenges. The conference highlighted the government’s efforts to support Egyptian women, with a focus on the health sector in particular, primarily through the Presidential Initiative for Women’s Health, launched in 2019.
Novartis representatives showcased the pharmaceutical giant’s endeavors across all possible avenues to support women, as well as its continued commitment to cooperating with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and all relevant stakeholders to improve prevention and treatment methods and direct research activities towards developing innovative and effective treatments.
Dr. Ahmed Moursy, Executive Director of the Presidential Initiative for Women’s Health, expressed his pleasure at participating in the conference, welcoming the attendees. “International Women’s Day is an opportunity to highlight the great achievements of women across all fields and their important role in managing issues within the family and society,” said Dr. Moursy. It also offers us the chance to emphasize the importance of directing more support and care towards women to address the varied challenges – especially those health-related – that they face. These include the high rates of cardiovascular diseases, cancer – mainly breast cancer,” he pointed out, adding: “Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among Egyptian women, representing around 32.4% of female cancer cases2.
“This has driven the Ministry of Health and the National Committee for Women’s Health to focus more on prevention through awareness-raising and early detection campaigns, as well as by developing treatment methods and providing innovative treatment protocols that help improve survival rates and breast cancer patients’ quality of life,” said Dr. Moursy.
Dr. Moursy also shed light on government efforts to improve women’s health. “In recent years, the government has more actively sought to advance and prioritize Egyptian women’s health by providing the best possible health care, underpinned by the firm belief that ‘women’s health mirrors Egypt’s health’,” he explained
“The Presidential Initiative for Women’s Health reflects this commitment. It aims to detect various diseases and screen more than 24 million women countrywide for breast cancer, in addition to providing the latest innovative medications free of charge to patients aged 18 years and above. The health ministry has screened 16,500,000 women since the launch of the initiative in July 2019 throughout 23,200,000 visits5,” said Dr. Moursy.
On the health ministry’s role in promoting women’s health, Dr. Sherif Amin, General Manager of Novartis Oncology for Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, applauded the government’s efforts: “In recent years, the medical sector has achieved remarkable progress in improving women’s health in general, as well as in terms of developing treatment protocols and providing innovative and more effective medications that improve the quality of lives for patients with chronic diseases, particularly cancer patients, with breast cancer at the top of the list. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in Egypt,” said Amin, adding that Novartis had attached great importance to advanced breast cancer by offering better treatment alternatives. “This has given patients a great deal of hope and has contributed to improving their quality of life,” He pointed out.
“Novartis enthusiastically welcomes constructive cooperation with the Presidential Initiative for Women’s Health with the goal of upskilling MOH healthcare professionals, briefing them on medical updates regarding the latest breast cancer treatments and early screening protocols, in addition to providing support in developing the national registry for cancer patients in Egypt, and contributing to the development of an oncology center of excellence to be the nucleus for oncology centers of excellence in Egypt1,” Amin stated.
Amin also emphasized the company’s interest in women’s health issues and its eagerness to participate in the Ministry of Health activities to enhance prevention and treatment methods. “We constantly strive towards the development of innovative treatments and we are proud of our success in driving research efforts to promote women’s health,” he noted. “One of the key achievements that we are most proud of is the development of Ribociclib, the first treatment to demonstrate nearly five years of overall survival in metastatic or advanced breast cancer patients when used in combination with hormonal therapy3,” Amin said.
The company’s efforts are not limited to medical support only, but also focus on supporting patients as a top priority. Nearly 8,000 cancer patients have so far accessed Novartis support programs, with a concrete emphasis on launching innovative patient support programs for advanced breast cancer patients – such as the ‘Enaya’ and ‘Sanadek’ programs – to support affected patients throughout their treatment journey,” Amin pointed out. “This approach reflects Novartis commitment to a global strategy based on close cooperation and partnerships with governments and health authorities, to achieve our goal of advancing health care in general and women’s health care in particular1” Amin emphasized.
“Women are instrumental in the development of society, they are its backbone and foundation and a conduit for its progress. That is why we must unite and direct all possible means of support and care to Egyptian girls and women,” Marie Andree Gamache, Head of Novartis Oncology Middle East and Africa said.
“On International Women’s Day, we would like to emphasize the continuation of Novartis Egypt’s commitment to numerous ventures that support women’s mental and physical health, and to ongoing cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Health within the framework of the Presidential Initiative for Women’s Health.” Gamache said.
“Novartis efforts not only include patient support, but also focus on supporting female Novartis employees, encouraging women’s empowerment through various initiatives across Egypt, Africa, and the Middle East. These include programs such as the “Empowered to Empower” initiative which was launched by the Novartis MEA oncology team,” Gamache said. “Empowered to Empower” is fully dedicated to women’s empowerment, and helps us ensure that we are treating all associates fairly, providing a convenient and effective work environment, helping them achieve work-life integration with a specific focus on customized development programs dedicated to female associates, developing their abilities to their fullest potential and equipping them to excel as leaders,” she added.
