Wednesday 16/Apr/2025 – 09:14 AM
Dr. Abla Al -Alfi, Deputy Minister of Health and Population for Population and Family Development, participated in the activities of a symposium “Health beginnings for a promising future”, organized by the Higher Institute for Public Health in Alexandria Governorate, in the presence of Dr. Heba Al -Qadi, Dean of the Institute, Dr. Naama Abed, representative of the World Health Organization in Egypt, and Dr. Mohamed Farid, Secretary -General of the General Syndicate of Doctors, along with Dr. Song Soo Chun, Professor At the World Health Institute at the American University in Cairo, and Dr. Abdel Moneim Fawzi, Captain of Alexandria Doctors, as well as a large gathering of consultants and specialists in the fields of public health, pediatrics, women and obstetrics, this came in the context of celebrating the International Day of Health.
Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesman of the Ministry of Health and Population, explained that the deputy minister confirmed in her speech that what is known as “a thousand days” at the age of the child – from the beginning of pregnancy to reach two years – represents a golden window that determines the future of the child healthy and mentally, stressing that about 85% of the child’s mental and physical capabilities consist during this precise stage, and indicated that some wrong health practices during this period may result in About severe consequences for both the mother and child.
Merging family advice and expanding pre -pregnancy services
Abdel Ghaffar added that the deputy minister stressed the importance of taking the decision to have children in an enlightened manner, which is what the ministry is working to enhance by merging family advice in primary health care units, through qualified teams that provide the necessary advice and awareness to families, noting that one of the most important messages that are transferred to the couple is the necessity of escorting the pregnancy with no less than 3 to 5 years, which allows the mother to prepare healthy for pregnancy and provide optimal care for the child during the child First general.
The Deputy Minister also indicated that the ministry merged family advice within the procedures for examining those coming to marriage, so that the examination certificate is not granted until after the completion of awareness sessions, which include basic axes on building a sound family and the importance of accurate nutrition before pregnancy, pointing out that about 47% of women in Egypt suffer from iron deficiency, which threatens negative effects on the mental development of the fetus in its early stages, and that 30% of Pymns are due to mothers’ malnutrition during pregnancy.
The Deputy Minister pointed out to the Ministry’s efforts in this context, as family counseling rooms were established in more than 75% of the primary health care units, run by multidisciplinary teams that include pharmacists, dentists and physiotherapists and nursing specialists, who were rehabilitated to provide advice sessions that take into account privacy and dignity, and enhance the chances of making the reproductive decision on scientific and humanitarian foundations.
In a related context, the Deputy Minister called for the need to reduce unjustified caesarean section, describing it as one of the most prominent challenges facing public health in Egypt, pointing out that its rates amounted to 72% on average, and rise in some private sector facilities to between 85 and 90%, compared to 54% in the hospitals of the Ministry of Health, and explained that this surgery must be based on strict medical considerations using tools such as “Bartogram” and Robson standards, not to be an easy option for entertainment reasons.
Al -Alfi added that confronting this phenomenon requires a comprehensive societal awareness and cooperation between the various actors, from the medical sector to the media and civil society, which is reflected in improving reproductive health indicators and reducing newborn deaths.
The deputy minister revealed that the state launched an urgent plan for population and development, based on the principles on which the first thousand days of the child’s life, and focus on the regions, according to the complex population indicators, in a serious attempt to draw a more sustainable path for the health of future generations.
At the end of her speech, she expressed her pride in the internationally achieved Egypt, as the Egyptian experience was offered to link a thousand days to the principle of spacing between the loads in the 58th session of the United Nations Population and Development Conference, and it was appreciated as an innovative model in health planning.
I made an appeal to all partners from academic and media institutions, civil society and health organizations, to join the Ministry’s efforts to transform awareness into an act, ensuring a healthy, promising future for the children of Egypt.
