According to the World Health Organization, Egypt has diagnosed 87% of people infected with the hepatitis C virus and provided curative treatment to 93% of them, becoming the first country to achieve “gold level” status on the road to eliminating hepatitis C. s country. 1
WHO praises the North African country, saying it has managed to move from one of the highest hepatitis C rates in the world (10%) to one of the lowest (0.38%) in just over a decade ), making “unprecedented progress.”
WHO’s gold-level goals include diagnosing at least 80% of cases and providing treatment for at least 70% of confirmed cases. Egypt was the first country to apply for verification and receive gold-level status.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the progress was “simply shocking” and should serve as “an example to the world of what can be achieved with modern tools and political commitment to use them to prevent infections and save lives.”
Approximately 58 million people worldwide have chronic hepatitis C infection. Hepatitis C is a viral infection that can be cured with two to three months of antiviral treatment. Still, about four out of five people infected with the virus don’t know they are infected. If left untreated, it can lead to liver disease and cancer.
Egypt has been strengthening national prevention and treatment programs since the early 2000s and established the National Viral Hepatitis Control Committee in 2006. In 2014, the president launched the national 100 Million Healthy Lives campaign, which aims to eliminate hepatitis C by providing free testing and treatment. So far, it has tested more than 60 million people and treated more than 4.1 million.
According to the World Health Organization, locally produced antiviral treatments are a key part of the program’s success, with cure rates as high as 99% for patients treated.
Egypt has also adopted a “do no harm” approach, implementing universal injection safety, blood safety procedures and harm reduction, the WHO said. It is estimated that 23-39% of new hepatitis C infections occur among people who inject drugs. Therefore, WHO recommends harm reduction interventions, such as distributing sterile needles and syringes to people dependent on opioids, to prevent infection and transmission. 2
Najma Al Gasser, WHO Representative in Egypt, said: “The Ministry is driven by the highest political commitment, as well as solidarity, equity and inclusion, to serve everyone living in Egypt without discrimination and as a a universal human right.”
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