The Ministry of Health and Population announced on Wednesday that 2,647,598 students have been examined, as part of the initiative for early detection of diseases like anaemia, obesity, and stunting among primary school students, since its launch of the current academic year on 5 November 2023. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, explained that the initiative aims to examine students in the primary stage, both Egyptians and non-Egyptians residing in Egypt. He said that the initiative will continue to work until the end of the current school year in all governorates of the country. Abdel Ghaffar added that the initiative's services include conducting medical examinations for students and measuring weight, height, and hemoglobin levels in the blood, to detect malnutrition diseases. He also said that the initiative develops the necessary mechanisms to improve students' health, in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education. Mohamed Dahi, the Chairperson of the General Authority for Health Insurance, said that cases diagnosed with any of these diseases included in the initiative are referred to health insurance clinics, to complete the necessary examinations and receive treatment for free. He also said that these students are given a "follow-up card" to monitor them periodically. Tamer Samir, the coordinator of the presidential initiative, said that the medical teams participating in the initiative were trained on examination and diagnostic protocols, and infection control standards. Samir stressed that all the tasks of the initiative are carried out while taking all precautionary and preventive measures. He noted that the survey is carried out throughout the year to avoid crowding among students.
