On WEF sidelines in Davos : The Minister of Planning and Economic Development participates in a round table on early measures and sustainable financing for the prevention of non-communicable diseases.

Switzerland - January 19, 2023
H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, participated today in the round table held in cooperation between AstraZeneca and Foreign Policy, entitled "Early Actions and Sustainable Financing for the Prevention of Non-communicable Diseases", which was held during the activities of the 53rd edition of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
 
The table witnessed the participation of 52 heads of state and government and several finance ministers and chief executives.
 
During her participation, Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, emphasized the importance of a strong and advanced healthcare system as the cornerstone of a resilient society and economy.
 
 
El-Said added that during the Corona pandemic, the resilience of healthcare systems was able to make a significant difference between infection levels and the number of deaths across and within countries.
 
 
 
According to El-Said, countries that took early measures and had adequate medical supplies while providing effective treatment in hospitals were more successful in enduring the crisis and reducing its economic repercussions.
 
El-Said said that the pandemic revealed the need to prioritize digital innovation, use data and communications, and rebuild workforce skills when developing investment plans.
 
El-Said further noted the focus on the importance of investing in preventive health care during the Covid-19 outbreak.
 
El-Said highlighted the AstraZeneca and Foreign Policy report, which reviewed the health and economic cost of non-communicable diseases.
 
El-Said stressed that investing in preventive health care can save a lot of costs, pointing to the need to follow many paths to enable early interventions in the detection and treatment of non-communicable diseases.
 
El-Said stressed the importance of what came in the AstraZeneca report in terms of raising awareness of the disease, covering possible causes of the disease, symptoms, and treatments.
 
In her speech, El-Said highlighted the Egyptian experience, which emphasized the importance of launching health campaigns on the ground, pointing out that Egypt launched the 100 Million Health Campaign in 2018 for the early detection of hepatitis C virus and non-communicable diseases for 70 million citizens.
El-Said explained that the campaign resulted in the treatment of 2.2 million citizens infected with hepatitis C, and the diagnosis and treatment of nearly 10 million citizens suffering from non-communicable diseases.
 
 
 
 
El-Said also referred to the initiative for early detection and treatment of breast cancer, explaining that the campaign was implemented in three phases to test 28 million women and provide free treatment.
El-Said explained that it will revolutionize data generation and retention in terms of investing in digital innovations and integrating them into healthcare delivery.
El-Said pointed out the importance of the continuous effort to digitize health records, stating that the rapid communication of accurate data will contribute to reducing medical errors and avoiding health complications and thus the cost.
 
El-Said added that digital platforms are now being used to provide health services, follow up with patients more effectively, and send reminders to patients to take their medications on time.
Concerning policymakers, El-Said explained that developing evaluation and measurement capabilities will allow decision-makers to weigh the costs and benefits of investing in preventive health care.
El-Said stressed the need not to overlook the basic causes that could increase the risks of non-communicable diseases, explaining that environmental degradation and climate change are the factors.
 
El-Said touched on several other healthcare initiatives in Egypt, referring to the blood plasma project, which aims to ensure the availability of treatment for many chronic diseases, including liver and kidney diseases.
 
El-Said also referred to the initiative for early detection of anemia, obesity, and stunting for primary school students, and the Nour Al-Hayat initiative to combat visual impairment and blindness through early diagnosis and treatment.
 
El-Said confirmed that a plan has been drawn up to examine 5 million primary school students and 2 million of the most vulnerable citizens while providing one million medical glasses, and performing 250,000 eye surgeries.
 
 
 
 
  
El-Said talked about Egypt's rapid response to the Covid-19 pandemic, explaining that the Egyptian government introduced several policies as a rapid response to the outbreak of the pandemic, in addition to increasing the health budget in fiscal year 20/21 by 100%.
 
A large amount has also been allocated to secure all medical services, with isolation hospitals being equipped in about 389 hospitals. In addition, it has increased the infection allowance for physicians and nursing staff by 7575%. This has been coupled with the allocation of emergency funding to support various initiatives by the Ministry of Health.