Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar; opened the first integrated laboratory for pathological and genetic analyses in Egypt, at the Egyptian Center for Disease Control and Control, “CDC”, at a cost amounting to EGP 120m.
The laboratory was established in cooperation with the global leader in pharmaceuticals and diagnostic tests, Roche, HDV Egypt, the leader in diagnostic tests, and the official representative of Illumina Inc. in the field of genetic sequencing tests.
This came during the inauguration activities of the President of the Republic’s initiative for early detection and treatment of cancerous tumours, in the presence of Major General Bahaa Zidan, the Chairman of the Egyptian Unified Purchasing Authority, Mohamed Hassani, the Assistant Minister of Health for Public Health Initiatives Affairs, and Mohamed Mostafa, the Head of the Hospitals and Educational Institutes Authority.
In his speech, Abdel Ghaffar said that analysisanalyzes and integrated pathology (CGP) were only available in the private sector by sending samples abroad, explaining that the second phase of the project includes obtaining CAP international accreditation for the laboratory, which is the international certificate that guarantees the quality of laboratory procedures.
The Minister of Health and Population added that the operational capacity of the laboratory will be able to conduct about 1,800 CGP analyses annually and examine 400,000 pathological samples for cancer – which can be increased – which helps doctors in accurately determining the appropriate treatment, for each individual case, which is reflected in raising recovery rates.
He further explained that the operation of the early detection and treatment of cancerous tumours initiative began on 11 June in 9 governorates as a first stage, namely (Alexandria – Qalyubia – Beheira – Damietta – South Sinai – Marsa Matrouh – Fayoum – Assiut – Port Said).
The second phase, which includes 11 governorates, is scheduled to begin by the end of this year, while the third and final phase will begin by the first quarter of 2024.
The minister announced that the initiative has so far provided its services to 1.9 million beneficiaries, who filled out the initial questionnaire, which identifies tumours targeted by early detection.