Cairo: The Ministry of Health and Population reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to supporting efforts to build an integrated African cancer care system and strengthen continental partnerships to expand early detection, diagnosis, and treatment services across Africa.
According to State Information Service Egypt, the announcement came during Egypt's participation in a session titled "CCA in Egypt: Supporting and Strengthening Cancer Care Systems" held as part of the Africa Health ExCon 2026 conference and exhibition, with the participation of cancer experts and specialists from Egypt and across the continent.
Health Ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said Egypt's participation in the Cancer Care Africa (CCA) initiative stems from its belief that addressing the cancer burden requires collective action and effective partnerships. He stressed the importance of expanding successful models, closing healthcare gaps, and enhancing cooperation to establish a comprehensive African cancer care system capable of delivering sustainable health outcomes.
During the session, Assistant Minister of Health for Public Health Initiatives Mohamed Hassany emphasized that more than half of cancer-related deaths are preventable, underscoring the need for greater investment in prevention, early detection, and capacity-building programs. He highlighted the success of the CCA initiative in 2024, which screened more than 160,000 people, diagnosed over 6,000 patients, and trained more than 13,000 healthcare workers across Africa.
Hassany also reviewed Egypt's investments in cancer services under its comprehensive healthcare transformation strategy. He noted that the Presidential Women's Health Initiative has screened more than 23 million women and detected over 38,000 cancer cases, while the national early cancer detection and treatment initiative has screened more than 16 million citizens.
Further, Hassany highlighted efforts to strengthen diagnostic services through the National Digital Pathology Network project, expressing Egypt's readiness to share its experience with African countries. He called for adopting the concept of "societal value" in evaluating health policies to maximize both health and economic returns, in line with Egypt's National Health Strategy 2030.