Cairo- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi discussed Sunday the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the local manufacture of prosthetic implants, in two separate meetings with a host of officials, including Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli, Higher Education Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Health Minister Hala Zayed and Chairman of the Egyptian Authority for United Procurement, Medical Supply and the Management of Medical Technology, Bahaaeddin Zeidan.
The president followed up in the first meeting on the scale of the pandemic, both at the local and international levels, as well as national efforts to contain it, in the light of expertise acquired during the first and second waves of the disease, Presidential Spokesman, Ambassador BasssamRadi, said.
President Sisi appraised the readiness of different health sectors, efforts to bring in Covid-19 vaccines, and vaccine rollout priorities, Ambassador Radi added.
He noted that the president directed the government to maintain awareness campaigns on disease prevention on the road to maintaining the balanced strategy followed by state institutions in dealing with Covid-19 since the emergence of the disease.
The president also ordered state institutions to make the financial resources required for the import of vaccines available.
He also underscored the importance of hammering out partnerships with foreign agencies in the manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines locally on the road to achieving self-sufficiency in this regard.
In another meeting, the president reviewed steps taken so far to create an integrated system for the local manufacture of prosthetic implants.
He was acquainted with ongoing efforts for the upgrade of the army’s prosthetic implant factory.
The president also reviewed efforts for the construction of a comprehensive industrial complex for the manufacture of prosthetic implants, enlisting international expertise in this field, Ambassador Radi said.
He added that the construction of the complex would aim for the possession of the ability to produce the implants, using high-quality materials.
The complex would also provide programmes for training in the use of prosthetic implants, he said.
President Sisi said the aspired industrial complex has to lay stress on the training of its workers at the academic, scientific and technical levels.
He added that the production of high-quality implants would ensure providing those with disabilities with distinguished services.
The president also directed the officials meeting him to formulate a comprehensive database of the different elements of the aspired prosthetic implant system, including those who need the implants, Ambassador Radi said.
He called for using ongoing efforts within the Descent Life initiative to survey needs in this regard, he added.
