Health Minister Hala Zayed announced that 3.781 million citizens have been recently tested for the Hepatitis C virus as part of the “100 Million Healthy Lives” initiative launched by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to detect Hepatitis C and other noncommunicable diseases.
The total number of examinees under the initiative, since its launch on October 1, reached 16.5 million citizens, Zayed said, adding that the state aims to reach all citizens who are likely to have been infected with Hepatitis C and treat them free of charge completely.
Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health Khaled Megahed meanwhile revealed that 231,546 students in the secondary stage have been examined since the launch of the initiative until Tuesday noon in nine governorates of the initiative’s first stage.
According to Megahed, 51,100 students have been examined in Alexandria, 42,145 in Assiut, 41,861 in Beheira, 35,492 in Qaliubiya, and 27,649 in Fayoum.
The survey on secondary school students began on December 1, 2018, and ends with the end of the third phase of the initiative in April 2019, Megahed said.
The rate of HIV infection of the total number of examined students did not exceed 0.3 percent, he said, noting that infected students will be treated free of charge.
