Egypt shares hepatitis C success story at Africa-wide elimination workshop

Egypt’s Ministry of Health, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) convened a five-day regional workshop in Cairo aimed at eliminating viral hepatitis across Africa, the Cabinet said Sunday.

The programme trained 33 health officials from 13 African countries to draft national strategies to eliminate hepatitis by 2030, in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) targets.

Egypt presented its hepatitis C eradication drive, which has been recognised by WHO as the world’s first large-scale success of its kind, and offered to share its model with other African Union members.

Participants attended lectures, discussions and site visits to Egyptian health institutions including Nasser Institute Hospital, the Egyptian Centre for Disease Control (EgyCDC), and drugmaker Pharco Pharmaceuticals in Alexandria.

Assistant Health Minister Mohamed Hassani said the workshop helped build “a network of change leaders” committed to hepatitis elimination across the continent. Africa CDC regional director Wessam Mankoula hailed Egypt’s approach as “an inspiring success story,” while KOICA adviser Sangwoo Tak underlined Korea’s commitment to supporting African nations in public health initiatives.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: Y.Yasser