CAIRO: As part of an initiative to build awareness about the dangers of the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), the EFG-Hermes Foundation, the corporate and social responsibility arm of leading regional investment bank of EFG-Hermes, is sponsoring the National HBV Campaign, launched this month by the National Committee for the Control of Viral Hepatitis and the Ministry of Health and Population. The campaign is part of a larger program slated to take place over the next four years in partnership with private sector sponsors and civil society groups. Known as a "University Awareness Campaign, it seeks to provide free HBV vaccinations for graduating medical students - a segment at great risk of coming into contact with the virus. "This initiative takes a preventative, rather than reactive, approach to HBV, hoping to stop the spread of the disease and educate citizens of all ages of how best to avoid infection, said Hanaa Helmy, CEO of the EFG-Hermes Foundation. "Ten-15 percent of the Egyptian population suffers from a form of Hepatitis, and most of them were originally exposed to the virus at poorly maintained clinics and hospitals. According to the foundation, during the past 15 months, 10 medical centers have been fully-equipped with the latest technology in battling against the liver disease, with a total of 12,920 patients having been treated thus far. "With how prevalent this disease is in Egypt, it is frightening to think how little people actually know about it, said Dr Manal Hamdy El Sayyed, Pediatrician and Committee Supervisor for the HBV Vaccination Campaign. "This campaign gives us the chance to not only educate people on how to avoid the virus, but also allows us to provide them with the vaccinations they need. The education process is a constantly evolving one. "Young people are expected to communicate the knowledge they will get to others within and outside their families. The campaign includes a series of workshops, vaccination drives and sports activities throughout the campuses of different universities, beginning with Ain Shams, Tanta and Assiut Universities.
