Four million pupils have been examined since early December as part of the presidential initiative for the early detection of anemia, obesity and dwarfism among primary school students, the Ministry of Health and Population announced on Monday.
Ministerial spokesman Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar said the current screening commenced on 6 December 2023 and will continue until the end of the current school year in May.
The primary school initiative, which was launched in 2019, covers both Egyptian and non-Egyptian students across 30,000 different schools, both private and public, nationwide, comes within the larger 100 Million Healthy Lives presidential initiative for the early detection and treatment of many serious diseases.
According to recent government figures, 33 per cent of children suffer from anemia, while 13.5 per cent from obesity and 5 per cent from dwarfism.
Medical teams assess the child’s weight, height and hemoglobin to screen for signs of malnutrition, Abdel-Ghaffar said.
General Health Insurance Authority chairman Mohamed Dahi said patients are referred to any of 255 Health Insurance clinics for further examinations and treatment free of charge.
Initiative co-ordinator Tamer Samir said 2,400 medical teams are carrying out the initiative nationwide, with each team comprising a nurse, a laboratory technician and an administrator.
