Acting Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar met with Jeremy Hopkins — the representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Egypt — on Sunday to discuss strengthening means of cooperation between the ministry and the organisation.
The meeting discussed plans for the next 5 years — starting from 2023 — and the need to pay attention to the mental health of children, especially for those who suffer from autism and attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD).
The cooperation plans in question include training medical teams to deal with children and educating their families on the correct ways to deal with them in coordination with the General Secretariat for Mental Health and Addiction Treatment.
Hossam Abdel Ghaffar — the Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population — said that the meeting also discussed restructuring the primary health care system in Egypt in accordance with the standards of the comprehensive health insurance system within the UNICEF’s plan as well as working to activate the electronic system for family planning services and vaccinations for children.
The spokesperson added that the meeting also addressed ways of cooperating in confronting the coronavirus pandemic by providing preventive supplies for health sector workers, providing refrigerators for the transfer of vaccines and vaccines, and organising training workshops for medical teams.
He further pointed out that the minister emphasised the importance of benefiting from the experiences of the UNICEF in the field of providing school meals in accordance with food safety standards and specifications.
For his part, Hopkins thanked the health minister for his efforts in serving and advancing the health sector, stressing the organisation’s keenness to continue providing all aspects of support to the Egyptian state.
