The Ministry of Health and Population has signed a protocol of cooperation with the British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company AstraZeneca.
The protocol signed concerns cooperation vis-a-vis heart diseases, hypertension, and kidney disease. Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population, witnessed the signing which took place on the sidelines of the 77th General Assembly meeting of the World Health Organization held in Geneva from 27 May to 1 June.
Signing the protocol on behalf of the Ministry of Health was Mohamed al-Tayeb, Assistant Minister of Health and Population for Governance and Technical Affairs; and from AstraZeneca Hatem Werdany, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AstraZeneca Egypt Pharmaceutical Industries.
According to Hussam Abdel-Ghaffar, official spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Population, the protocol comes within the “Heart Health in Africa” campaign, which aims to enhance awareness of the symptoms of heart disease, hypertension, causes and prevention of kidney diseases, in addition to enhancing cooperation between medical institutions, civil society and government agencies. The idea is to improve services provided for patient care.
The cooperation protocol should guarantee the provision of screening tests for early detection of the specified diseases, through conducting laboratory tests for patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, and vascular problems, and organising training sessions for Ministry of Health physicians, to acquaint them with the most recent treatment protocols. It also aims to provide patients, as well as medical and administrative staff working with the Ministry of Health and Population with awareness programmes in the field of heart and kidney diseases.
According to the protocol, AstraZeneca will provide the necessary technical support in order to ensure the implementation and continuity of early detection, and update and disseminate the treatment protocols built, in accordance with the latest research approved by WHO.
Watani International
27 May 2024