In response to dozens protesting against the shortage of subsidised infant milk, Health Minister Ahmed Emad said the gathered families did not know the new outlets for selling the milk.
Dozens of families protested on Thursday morning in front of the Egyptian Pharmaceutical Trading Company against the shortage of subsidised infant milk.
Emad said that according to a new decree, the milk will only be sold in outlets belonging to the Health Ministry, which amount to 1,005 outlets across Egypt, including 109 in Cairo.
According to an official statement from the ministry, the families were directed to the new outlets and 22 cases were given the milk after review.
Families decided to assemble at the company headquarters and block the main road, after going back and forth between the company and other retail outlets in search for the milk.
According to some families’ testimonies, the subsidised milk is much cheaper than the one found in pharmacies. One of the protestors, who came from Menoufiya in search for the milk, told Daily News Egypt that the price for a single packet is EGP 17, whereas in pharmacies it can go up to EGP 65, which he cannot afford. Many of the families had travelled from other cities to Cairo to get the milk.
Photos by Mahmoud Nasr.
