Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 9 September, the Research Institute of Virology of the Republican Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Epidemiology, Microbiology, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases hosted an event on handing over drugs against the hepatitis C virus as the gratuitous assistance from Egypt to Uzbekistan.

The event was attended by Head of the Department for Coordination of Specialized Centers of the Ministry of Health Zainiddin Asamutdinovich Saifutdinov, Deputy Head of the Service for Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health Botirjon Kurbanov, Director of the Republican Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Epidemiology, Microbiology, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Botir Tajiev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Uzbekistan Ms. Amira Fahmi, Head of the Department of the Middle East and Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ismatilla Fayzullaev, Director Research Institute of Virology of the Republican Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Epidemiology, Microbiology, Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, representatives of the media.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 200 million people are infected with the hepatitis C virus every year. Thus, according to 2020 data, more than 350,000 patients die every year from complications of hepatitis C. The World Hepatitis Alliance revealed last year that 1.4 million people die each year from hepatitis B and C viruses. And that means more than HIV/AIDS and malaria.

In total, the Egyptian government sent 15,000 units of Sofosbuvir and 15,000 units of Daclatasvir to our country as gratuitous aid for a total of US$302,000. The drugs will be used to treat patients diagnosed with viral hepatitis Type "C" in screening trials.