Novartis Egypt, including all its divisions: Pharma, Oncology, Sandoz, and Technical Operations, has announced recently its collaboration with the Ministry of Health on a range of initiatives supporting the ongoing fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Novartis has directed EGP 6.5m to fund essential personal protective equipment supply for healthcare professionals. This includes masks, gowns, goggles, glasses, face shields, head covers, and diagnostic PCR kits for coronavirus tests. Novartis has also collaborated with the ministry to run Egypt's first coronavirus awareness seminar in March, that brought together over 5,600 multi-specialty doctors to discuss the latest developments on the pandemic. Further national awareness webinars are also in the pipeline to ensure access to basic information about Covid-19 for the majority of healthcare professionals in Egypt. "As a global healthcare company, we are deeply committed to supporting the fight against Covid-19 on all fronts," said Georg Schroeckenfuchs, MEA Cluster Head and Vice President of Egypt branch, in a statement. "Our immediate primary concern remains protection and prevention of the spread of the virus, as we work alongside global experts to develop more definitive long-term solutions. We are working closely with the Egyptian government to help address the most pressing challenges resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak." Moreover, the company will be hosting a range of medical webinars for Middle East and Africa healthcare professionals. This will act as a means for them to learn about the experiences of China, Germany, and Italy in dealing with the pandemic. Novartis has also committed to providing 130m doses globally of the anti-viral hydroxychloroquine. This comes in addition to implementing clinical trials for several medicines that may come part of the coronavirus treatment protocol.
