Egypt's Ministry of Health announced on Saturday that a presidential initiative for maternal and fetal health has provided free, comprehensive medical screening to more than 3.6 million pregnant women nationwide since its launch. The program is part of the broader "100 Million Health" public health campaign. It focuses on the early detection of diseases transmissible from mother to child.
In an official announcement, the ministry confirmed that the initiative offers full free medical care, including early detection of diseases such as hepatitis B, HIV, and syphilis, to ensure safe deliveries and healthy newborns. Ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar stated: "The programme focuses on the early detection of diseases that can be transmitted from mother to child, offering immediate treatment and full free care."
Fawzy Fathy, the initiative's executive director, added that medical teams follow up with each woman and her newborn for 42 days after delivery to identify early risk factors and intervene promptly. He noted that women receive all necessary nutritional supplements throughout the postpartum period. Fathy emphasized that all laboratory tests are conducted with full confidentiality, using high-quality diagnostic kits, and only after obtaining explicit informed consent from each woman.
Services include full clinical examinations for mother and fetus, measurement of height, weight, and blood pressure, tetanus vaccination, and blood and urine tests to detect anaemia, infections, and communicable diseases. The program also assesses the need for Anti-D injection after delivery and provides all required micronutrients and vitamins free of charge during pregnancy and postpartum.
The initiative has become an integrated part of daily services at primary healthcare units and maternal and child health centres across all governorates, helping to sustain high-quality care for mothers and newborns nationwide.