The prevalence of Virus C in Egypt represents one of the country’s main health crises, as Egypt is # 1 worldwide in terms of its number of Virus C patients according to the Ministry of Health and Population.  HCV continues to infect at least 150,000 new patients every year while there is currently no vaccine for this virus.

Based on these shocking facts and in light of TE commitment to improving life for all Egyptians, the company launched “A New Beginning without Virus C initiative” in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the Misr El Kheir Foundation. The main goal of the initiative is to prevent Egyptians from becoming infected with Virus C through various projects:

Developing Blood Banks

TE aims to improve and develop the infrastructure of blood banks affiliated with the Ministry of Health and enhance the quality of services through:

• Developing and rehabilitating more than 29 blood banks affiliated with the Ministry of Health
• Launching an online portal linking more than 200 blood banks affiliated with the Ministry of Health. This connection will help create a strong database and allow users to view information on surpluses and deficits for various blood types
• Providing blood banks across the country with Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) technology. The NAT not only checks for antibodies (the body’s response to infection) but also searches for viral nucleic acid (the presence of the virus itself), NAT technology will benefit a total of 36 million Egyptians in Upper Egypt and the surrounding delta region.

Developing Health Institutions

TE provides safe health services to reduce Virus C infection rates. This will be achieved by constructing 80 medical centers as part of Phase 1 of the initiative, and the centers will be equipped with the medical supplies required to prevent the disease as much as possible in the provinces of Sohag, Qena, Fayoum and Minya with a total of 286 equipment.   

Awareness Campaigns

To raise awareness of Virus C and prevention methods, Telecom Egypt has a comprehensive awareness campaign that involves educational sessions on basic Virus C education as well as promotional materials on how to protect yourself from infection disseminated through various media platforms to reach the largest possible number of Egyptians throughout: Cairo, Giza, Kafr El Sheikh, Gharbia, Beni Suef, Assiut and Aswan

Developing Hospitals

• Improving Sterilization units of central hospitals
• Launching online portal, evaluating and following up on the sterilization operations
• Training of hospital staff, doctors, and patients

Throughout: hospitals in Kafr El Sheikh and Aswan.