Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population, held a meeting to follow up on the most important activities that were implemented in the executive plan of the General Secretariat of the National Committee for Food and Nutrition Systems, in the presence of Dr. Amr Qandil, Deputy Minister of Health and a number of representatives of ministries and concerned authorities.
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Dr. Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Health, explained that the Minister reviewed the priority interventions in the plan, which include working to provide a strategic reserve of basic commodities for a period of no less than six months, periodic and continuous supervision of the school feeding system and school canteens, including nutrition topics and their relationship to public health in school curricula, and completing the drafting of a code for marketing breast milk substitutes to support the encouragement of breastfeeding, in addition to studying the implementation of indicative food basket models through the relevant ministries and authorities.
Abdul Ghaffar added that the plan also includes the continuation of implementing mass vaccination programs for school students against intestinal parasites, providing micronutrients to children and pregnant women, following up and treating suspected cases of food poisoning while strengthening food safety procedures, developing an anthropometric measurements guide and training service providers on the updated guide, in addition to launching the national program to enhance local bread rations with micronutrients to prevent iron deficiency anemia, increasing the efficiency of using water resources, developing smart water management and improving irrigation systems.
Abdel Ghaffar indicated that the committee is also following up on procedures for developing legislation regulating compliance with Egyptian standard specifications for food products, enhancing investment opportunities in blue food systems and opening export areas to European markets, in addition to strengthening the role of the national coordinator for food and nutrition systems and participating in the study of the cost of food and nutrition in Africa (COFAN).
The official spokesman noted that the meeting discussed a number of challenges, most notably the need to complete the identification of the financing gaps necessary to achieve the plan’s objectives, as the Minister directed that a meeting of the relevant committee be held as soon as possible to review the procedures and steps taken by each party to implement the mandates assigned to it. He pointed out that the committee recommended establishing working groups within each ministry and agency to follow up on the implementation of agreed-upon activities and sending periodic reports to the General Secretariat, creating a unified electronic system to follow up performance indicators and executive activities, and preparing a unified national list of food and nutrition system indicators that supports the decision-making process through the contribution of each entity in identifying priority performance indicators.
Abdel Ghaffar added that the committee discussed proposals in support of public health, including the formation of a working group to prepare the unified guide for school canteens, the continuation of capacity-building programs for members of the General Secretariat to enhance follow-up and coordination mechanisms, and conducting a study on the nutritional patterns of Egyptian families. The Minister directed the importance of strengthening awareness messages about the dangers of malnutrition and including them in various programs, media, and social media, while launching continuous awareness campaigns targeting all segments of society to spread sound food culture and correct misconceptions, in a way that supports the state’s efforts to improve public health and prevent diseases.
