Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population announced that 3,342,772 surgeries have been performed under the presidential initiative to end waiting lists and prevent the accumulation of new cases requiring critical surgical interventions since the initiative was launched in July 2018.
Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, spokesperson for the ministry, said the initiative’s hotline has received 418,155 calls since it began operating, while 391,018 cases have been followed up between July 1, 2023 and August 8, 2026.
The initiative covers heart, orthopedic, ophthalmology and oncology surgeries, cerebral catheterization, cardiac catheterization, neurosurgery, kidney and liver transplants, cochlear implants, and peripheral catheterization. Patients are centrally distributed among hospitals according to their capacity to ensure that services are delivered as quickly as possible.
The ministry said all services provided through the initiative are fully free of charge, with patients bearing no financial burden. This aims to ease the pressure on those unable to afford treatment and ensure that urgent and critical surgeries are carried out to high standards and without delay.
Ahmed Mostafa, adviser to the health minister for the initiative and chairman of the Health Insurance Authority, said the ministry is working to improve hospital efficiency through continuous training of medical teams, supplying hospitals with modern equipment, and developing the automated electronic system used to follow up on data and refer cases between relevant bodies according to each hospital’s capacity.
Separately, the ministry announced that 792,592 newborns have been screened under the presidential initiative for the early detection of genetic diseases, launched on July 13, 2021 under the “100 Million Health” campaign, with the aim of building a healthy generation free from preventable causes of disability.
Abdel Ghaffar said the initiative is currently in its first phase, targeting the detection of 19 genetic diseases among premature babies in nurseries at Ministry of Health hospitals. The second phase is set to include comprehensive medical screening for all newborns across health units nationwide.
He added that screening is carried out by taking a simple blood sample from the baby’s heel and analysing it at the Egyptian CDC laboratories, which are equipped with the latest technologies. If a result is positive, the child is immediately referred for a confirmatory test and free treatment in accordance with the latest scientific protocols.
The targeted diseases include congenital hypothyroidism, G6PD deficiency, phenylketonuria, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, fatty acid oxidation disorders, cystic fibrosis, biotinidase deficiency, and several amino acid and metabolic disorders.
The ministry said it has allocated 56 specialised centres for the treatment and follow-up of genetic diseases among newborns, in cooperation with the Supreme Council of University Hospitals. The centres are distributed across governorates and provide treatment, regular follow-up, psychological support, and counselling for parents free of charge.
