On Jan. 11, 2023, Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population in Egypt, met with Mr. Allen Ma, BGI Almanahil CEO. BGI Almanahil is precision medicine leader BGI Genomics' subsidiary in the MENA region.

In the picture: Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population in Egypt (fourth from right) and BGI Almanahil Ceo Mr. Allen Ma (third from right)

Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, said that the two parties mainly discussed how to expand the provision of medical testing and analysis services to Egyptian citizens through the central laboratory of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, while strengthening the operations of medical laboratory services provided by the private sector, to achieve effective integration across institutions within the Egyptian health system.

The ministry has started working to establish a new central laboratory in the city of Badr that meets international standards, on the instructions of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

The meeting focused on the expansion of genetic testing services for citizens in central laboratories to facilitate early detection of diseases. In particular, both parties discussed strengthening genetic testing services at four stages: premarital testing, testing during pregnancy, postnatal testing and testing of the elderly. The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population will use the latest genetic testing technologies to better safeguard public health.

Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar added that the meeting discussed strengthening the capacity of the 5,400 health organizations across Egyptian provinces to provide medical testing and analysis services to citizens. Future cooperation between the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population and BGI Genomics may also involve training employees of Egyptian laboratories in the use of genetic testing technology.

About BGI Almanahil

BGI Almanahil Health for Medical Service is BGI Genomics' subsidiary company which headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, serving customers in the MENA region, which cover countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, Oman, and Egypt.