The objective of the initiative, according to the ministry's spokesman, Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, is to carefully detect the presence of such disease at the early stage to prevent it from transmitting into the mother's foetus.
Cairo—the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population (EMHP) has said, as part of the national ‘100 Million Health’ program, the agency has been able to ensure that at least more than 2.4 million women have benefited from the women’s Maternal and Foetal Health initiative since 2020.
The objective of the initiative, according to the ministry’s spokesman, Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, is to carefully detect the presence of such disease at the early stage to prevent it from transmitting into the mother’s foetus.
He said the government-sponsored health program primarily examines and specifically focuses on identifying syphilis infections, Hepatitis B, HIV, in pregnant mothers.
The initiative provides free and affordable healthcare treatment for pregnant women in Egypt to ensure that there are no disease-related issues with their health during and after childbirth.
The health initiative’s Executive Director, Fawzi Fathi explained that in order to be able identify any possible risk factors, the health teams have to examine and monitor the mother and her baby, at the post-pregnancy stage, for 42 days.
He said it allows them to devise proper measures to intervene in the event of providing vital micronutrients needed by the mother and her infant.
As an initiative not only designed to identify and treat already developed Maternal and Foetus health complications in pregnant women, it is also aimed at sensitising women on disease prevention measures and prioritising their consent before conducting tests and making recommendations.
The program is committed to confidentiality and test accuracy by using internationally recognized reagents, according to Mr Fawzi.
Fawzi promised that the health initiative is part of the ministry’s existing guidelines for health units, maternity, and childhood centres, incorporating thorough clinical assessment of the pregnant mother’s foetus, medical history of her tetanus vaccinations, blood pressure, height and weight measurements.
He said the pregnant woman will also be tested for anaemia, urinary tract infections, urinalysis for albumin levels and given anti-D injections post-birth, and urinalysis for albumin levels and urinary tract infections.
