Egypt's Acting Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar met with his Portuguese counterpart, Marta Temido, as part of a tour that started in Portugal. Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population Hossam Abdel Ghaffar stated that the minister discussed with Temido cooperation between the two countries in many important files. Abdel Ghaffar added that the meeting also addressed coordination and partnership support to deal with infectious and emerging diseases and public health emergencies within the framework of coordination between countries and joint efforts to address and respond quickly during epidemic outbreaks. He also explained that the two sides discussed participation in training programmes for applied epidemiology and vital statistics to raise the efficiency of doctors in the areas and activities of public health as well as cooperation in the field of development and training plans for laboratory medical personnel, especially in the fields of hormone analysis and food toxins. Moreover, Abdel Ghaffar noted that the meeting included discussing the exchange of experiences in the field of biotechnology and epidemiological studies in combating malaria and disease vectors as well as cooperation in the field of environmental monitoring technology, risk assessment, and an early warning system to confront epidemics. Additionally, the two sides discussed measures to facilitate the registration of pharmaceutical products and encourage joint manufacturing of family planning products, in addition to exchanging experiences in the field of digitising health services, cooperating in health projects, and transferring vaccine manufacturing technology. For her part, Temido expressed her aspiration to expand aspects of cooperation with Egypt, which will be reflected in providing high-quality medical services to patients in both countries. The Portuguese minister also reviewed her country's efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the level of scientific research in the medical field in Portugal, especially in fighting cancer and epidemics, in addition to Portuguese expertise in establishing electronic systems for health insurance and health care systems, as well as the capabilities of the pharmaceutical industry there.
