For the fifth year in a row, the Egyptian Ministry of Health has carried out its campaign to examine school students for hepatitis C, as part of the Presidential Initiative ‘100 Million Healthy Lives’.
Since 15 October, up to 144,000 grade 7 students have been examined, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ministry referred to directives by President Abdel Fatah El Sisi to continue the campaign for five years, ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar said.
This academic year, 1.2 million preparatory stage students will be screened, Abdel-Ghaffar added.
Chairman of the General Authority for Health Insurance Mohamed Dahi said the students are being examined by 412 medical teams.
The authority has been working with the Ministry of Education and Al-Azhar to organise the campaign. Treatment is on offered only with parental consent.
Heba Saeed, who is the general campaign co-ordinator at the General Authority for Health Insurance, said those who test positive are referred for further examination and analysis.
