The Ministry of Health and Population organized a scientific conference to raise awareness about tuberculosis, in conjunction with World Tuberculosis Day, under the title " Yes, we can eliminate tuberculosis. This is under the patronage of Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population, and in cooperation with local and international organizations.
Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Population, said: The Ministry has developed its strategy to eliminate tuberculosis to achieve the goals of sustainable development and Egypt’s vision by 2030, as the guidelines for detecting tuberculosis and methods of treating it are updated in accordance with the latest global methods of performance and combating tuberculosis, confirming the decrease in the incidence of tuberculosis in Egypt to less than 10 cases per 100 thousand residents.
He added " Abdul Ghaffar" The Ministry is working to develop the performance of the human element, by training doctors in chest diseases hospitals and making them gain valuable knowledge about the “Eradication of Tuberculosis” strategy, enhancing their capabilities and developing Their skills in detecting and directing the necessary treatment for tuberculosis patients, how to manage tuberculosis drugs, multi-drug and systemic drug resistance, tuberculosis treatment and social mobilization to combat epidemics.
For his part, Dr. Muhammad Awad Taj El-Din, Presidential Advisor for Health Affairs, praised the role of the Ministry of Health and Population and its interest in supporting all chest patients, including tuberculosis patients, as it provides its medical services, both preventive and therapeutic, to provide diagnostic and therapeutic services through 34 hospitals and 123 chest disease dispensaries, adding Egypt has a program to monitor infectious diseases throughout the republic, and it is one of the strongest programs certified by the World Health Organization, where suspected cases are monitored and transferred to chest disease units and all necessary medical measures are taken.
For his part, Dr. Ahmed Saafan, Head of the Ministry’s Therapeutic Medicine Sector, said that in continuation of achieving the Ministry of Health’s national strategy, chest hospitals are being developed, as 8 popular endoscopy units have been modernized, in addition to the increase in the number of CT scan departments to 22 departments, pointing to the launch of The lung health initiative screened 20,000 citizens, and an initiative was launched to screen for latent tuberculosis among dialysis patients by screening 25,000 patients, indicating a high rate of tuberculosis detection to more than 90% of the cases expected to be discovered.
During his speech, Dr. Mohamed El-Nadi, Head of the Central Administration for Therapeutic Medicine, pointed out the importance of the preventive aspect in raising health awareness for patients and citizens, the necessity of early detection in chest disease units when there are symptoms of the disease, and it is always recommended to examine contacts and give Preventive treatment for those proven to be infected, especially children under the age of five, in addition to early detection campaigns for the disease that are carried out in Remote and poor places, screening for patients with HIV, and screening for foreigners residing in Egypt.
For his part, Dr. Wagdy Amin, Director of the General Administration of Chest Diseases, indicated the provision of the latest diagnostic devices. There are 48 chest diseases hospitals worldwide, which help in diagnosing tuberculosis within only two hours of time after its discovery, in addition to providing the necessary treatment for detected cases with first- and second-line medications free of charge. Patients are also provided with medical, social, and psychological support, and the National Tuberculosis Control Program takes action. Positive steps in this field, which made it a role model among countries of the world and as certified by the World Health Organization.
He stated " “My grandfather” In the context of combating drug-resistant tuberculosis, the Ministry of Health was the first to establish the first department in this field at Sadr Al-Abbasiya Hospital, then two other departments at Sadr Al-Maamoura Hospital and Sadr Al-Mansoura Hospital, where patients are given second-line medications, which the Ministry provides for free to patients, in addition to providing care.
On the sidelines of the conference, a number of Ministry of Health officials and development partners from international organizations were honored in appreciation of their efforts in combating tuberculosis.< /p>
The celebration was attended by Dr. Nima Saeed, Representative of the World Health Organization in Egypt, Dr. Martin Vanden, Director of the Tuberculosis Unit at the World Health Organization, Carlos Oliver Cruz, Representative of the International Organization for Migration, and Dr. Kenza Bennani, a tuberculosis consultant at the tuberculosis control unit in the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of the World Health Organization, Dr. Yanni Wendling, a tuberculosis expert in France, and a number of Ministry of Health officials, professors and tuberculosis control experts.
