Cairo: SiltaNews – News Desk
Egyptian Minister of Health and Population Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, affirmed that local manufacturing is a cornerstone for strengthening the resilience of health supply chains in the face of global crises. He stressed the necessity of shifting from reactive to proactive planning to ensure the sustainability of health services.
This came during his participation in the event “From Policy to Implementation: A National Model for Resilient Global Supply Chains,” held at the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva.
The Minister explained that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed key weaknesses in health supply chains, including over-reliance on imports, limited real-time data visibility, and the fragility of local manufacturing. He noted that Egypt faced challenges during the pandemic in securing medical imports and dealing with price volatility.
He pointed out that the state successfully addressed these challenges through an integrated strategy based on three main pillars: digital integration, linking more than 5,000 healthcare facilities to a real-time monitoring system; expanding local manufacturing to cover 85 to 90% of pharmaceutical needs; and strengthening regional cooperation.
He added that these efforts enabled Egypt to transition to a more resilient and robust national model, contributing to the implementation of major health initiatives such as screening 60 million citizens and treating 5.5 million patients with hepatitis C, while ensuring the uninterrupted provision of vital services like intensive care and dialysis.
The minister emphasized that pharmaceutical security has become a fundamental component of national health security, noting that bolstering local manufacturing reduces reliance on imports and guarantees a continuous supply of medical products. The Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) has achieved Maturity Level 3 certification from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The minister added that the EDA’s attainment of Maturity Level 3 certification from the WHO has bolstered international confidence in Egyptian products, emphasizing that Egypt possesses the infrastructure and capabilities to become a regional hub for providing medicines and vaccines. He also highlighted the success of the unified procurement system in reducing the cost of Hepatitis C treatment from $900 to $40 per patient, a 95% decrease.
The Minister concluded by affirming that countries that build their healthcare preparedness during times of stability are better equipped to face crises. He called for enhanced international and regional cooperation to build resilient and robust healthcare systems based on integration, technology, and sustainable local manufacturing.