CAIRO – 19 April 2020: Under the auspices of the Egyptian media platforms of Extra News and Egypt Today, the National Council for Women launched an awareness campaign to help people avoid the coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.
This comes in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization. It is sponsored by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
The campaign is part of the state’s efforts to educate citizens about prevention methods in a scientific and accurate way, said Maya Morsy, the head of the NCW. It will be introduced by specialized doctors, she added.
As the coronavirus crisis has gripped Egypt and almost the whole world, NCW said it has launched such campaign, as part of its social responsibility, to educate citizens about the right ways to avoid being infected with the virus, which has been so far contracted by more than 2.3 million people worldwide.
The campaign will contain a number of videos illustrated by many doctors with different specialties. They will provide medical information and necessary advice to avoid infection. The videos will be broadcast on Extra News channel as well as the social media platforms of the English-language Egypt Today, the NCW and other partners, starting Sunday April 19th.
Morsy said the campaign is an important part of the state’s efforts to educate citizens about the novel virus, especially due to the rampant misinformation that may contribute to helping the spread of the disease.
It will also offer advice to women during pregnancy and lactation stages and to the people with serious underlying medical conditions who are at higher risk for severe illness.
The campaign will also focus on providing psychological and social assistance to families, in light of the precautionary measures that require people to stay at home for long periods.
Morsy thanked Egypt Today and Extra News for their fruitful cooperation and fast response to sponsor and broadcast the campaign. She also thanked the Egyptian media for the keenness to spread awareness among citizens during this critical period, as well as the partners and all those who participated to bring the campaign to light.
She affirmed that the campaign completes the efforts of the health and population committee of the NCW, headed by Ahlam Hanafy, a member of the council.
UNFPA Representative in Egypt Aleksandar Sasha Bodiroza has highlighted the need to work on curbing the spread of coronavirus and ensuring that the needs and rights of women and girls in all aspects of the humanitarian action against the deadly virus are included.
She affirmed the need to support and protect the medical staff who are in the front line in the battle against coronavirus, saying their sacrifices to save everyone should be recognized. Bodiroza added that the UNFPA is keen on ensuring the safety of all those working in the medical fields through personal protection methods.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health announced Saturday it recorded 188 new coronavirus cases, and 19 deaths.
According to Health Ministry Spokesman Khaled Megahed, the new cases raises Egypt’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 3,032 and deaths to 224.
The number of coronavirus cases whose tests turned from positive to negative increased to 980, he noted, including 701 people who recovered from the virus.
Megahed added that 55 of those infected with coronavirus were discharged from hospitals after receiving the necessary medical care. The total number of recoveries so far reached 701.
Sun, Apr. 19, 2020
