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Egyptian Liver Day
Cairo, Egypt
Coinciding with the 63rd World
Health Organization (WHO)
Regional Committee for the Eastern
Mediterranean, 4 October was
celebrated as Egyptian Liver Day
in Cairo. Historically, Egypt has
suffered from the highest hepatitis
C prevalence worldwide but the
country’s high burden could soon
be a thing of the past following
the indisputable commitment
from the Egyptian Government.
At the Egyptian Liver Day event,
the Minister of Health announced
that since the beginning of 2016,
more than 800,000 people have
been treated for hepatitis C and
4
hep
Voice October 2016
WHO Access to Hepatitis C
Treatment Report Launch
Geneva, Switzerland
the country aims to treat 1 million
patients by the end of the year. The
Ministry advanced its commitment to
tackling hepatitis C by declaring that
it expects the country to be hepatitis
C free by 2020. WHO DirectorGeneral, Dr Margaret Chan, who was
in attendance, praised Egypt for its
efforts in combating viral hepatitis.
As the heated debate over the cost
of hepatitis C treatments continues
to dominate discussions around viral
hepatitis and hinder the potential
for elimination by 2030, improving
access to new hepatitis C medicines
has never been more important.
In response to this, WHO