The Art and Science of Eliminating Hepatitis: Egypt’s Experience

Egypt has implemented a massive national screening and treatment programme, screening over 60 million people and treating 4 million, positioning the country to eliminate hepatitis C. The success is attributed to high-level political commitment, the use of generic direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) to drastically reduce costs, and a robust outreach strategy using mobile units and integrated health data. The programme was supported by a $530 million loan from the World Bank and collaboration between the government, private pharmaceutical companies like Pharco Pharmaceuticals, and international organizations.

• Egypt's national campaign achieved unprecedented scale by screening more than 60 million people and treating over 4 million within six years of its launch, making the country poised to eliminate HCV entirely.
• The cost of HCV treatment in Egypt was drastically reduced through generic competition after the Egyptian Patent Office rejected a patent application for sofosbuvir in 2014. This allowed the cost per person to drop from $1,650 in 2015 to $85 by 2018.
• The '100 Million Healthy Lives' campaign succeeded through high-level political commitment, including senior leaders getting screened themselves to set social norms and the government providing all testing and treatment free of charge to patients.
• The programme utilized an aggressive outreach strategy involving 60,000 trained healthcare personnel across 5,000 sites, including mobile screening units that targeted high-traffic areas like mosques, churches, and shopping malls.
• A robust digital infrastructure, including a 'Health Map' monitoring 50 million citizens and integration with the national census and electoral register, enabled efficient patient tracking and reduced loss to follow-up.
• The World Bank provided $530 million in funding for the project, which also aimed to strengthen primary and secondary care. This investment was projected to generate annual savings of $60 million after elimination is achieved by preventing complications like liver cancer.

APA

World Economic Forum (2022). The Art and Science of Eliminating Hepatitis: Egypt’s Experience. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Art_and_Science_of_Eliminating_Hepatitis_Egypt's_Experience_2022.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. The Art and Science of Eliminating Hepatitis: Egypt’s Experience. 2022. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Art_and_Science_of_Eliminating_Hepatitis_Egypt's_Experience_2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=The Art and Science of Eliminating Hepatitis: Egypt’s Experience |date=September 2022 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Art_and_Science_of_Eliminating_Hepatitis_Egypt's_Experience_2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2022art, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{The Art and Science of Eliminating Hepatitis: Egypt’s Experience}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Art_and_Science_of_Eliminating_Hepatitis_Egypt's_Experience_2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }