7M Egyptian students were screened for anemia, obesity, and dwarfism: Health Min.

CAIRO - 29 March 2023: The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population announced that 7 million, 486 thousand and 363 students in various schools of the Republic have been examined, as part of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s initiative, for the early detection of diseases (anemia, obesity and dwarfism) among primary school students.

The initiative was launched on December 6, 2022, as it comes within the framework of the state's concern for the health and safety of students.

Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Population, explained that the initiative aims to examine students in the primary stage, both Egyptians and non-Egyptians residing in Egypt, in 30,000 public and private schools, indicating that the initiative continues to operate until the end of the current academic year in all schools. governorates of the republic.

Abdel Ghaffar added that the initiative's services include conducting a medical survey for students and measuring weight, height, and hemoglobin in the blood, to detect malnutrition diseases, and setting up the necessary mechanisms to improve students' health, in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education.
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For his part, Muhammad Dahi, Chairman of the General Authority for Health Insurance, said that cases infected with any of these diseases included in the initiative are transferred to health insurance clinics, to complete the necessary examinations, and these students are also handed a “follow-up card” that contains their data.

Tamer Samir, Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative, indicated that the medical teams participating in the initiative amounted to 2,400 teams, and each team consists of 3 individuals (a nurse, a laboratory technician, and an administrator) who have been trained in examination and diagnosis protocols, and they have also been trained in infection control standards.

Samir stressed that all the tasks of the initiative are carried out with all precautionary and preventive measures taken, noting that the survey takes place throughout the year to prevent crowding among students, and health education teams in the governorates provide awareness to students on how to adhere to precautionary measures to preserve their health, pointing to allocating Hotline "106" to respond to citizens' inquiries about the initiative.