CAIRO – 6 May 2022: The Ministry of Health and Population announced screening around 107,000 babies for genetic diseases since the launching of the presidential initiative for the early detection of such diseases on 13 July 2021. Spokesperson of the ministry Hossam Abdel Ghaffar noted that the initiative screens newborn babies for 19 genetic diseases. The diseases babies are screened for include congenital hypothyroidism; hemolytic anemia; congenital adrenal hyperplasia; cystic fibrosis; hereditary hyperlipidemia; ketonuria; tetrahydropyridine deficiency; Isovaleric acidaemia; and elevated levels of propionic and methylmalonic acids in blood. The initiatives launched under the major initiative of “100 Million Healthy Lives” include an initiative to support the health of Egyptian women and an initiative to examine and treat people with chronic diseases and detect kidney disease. Also, the ministry said 23,906,809 females were screened for breast cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity since the launching of the Women Health Initiative in July 2019.
