CDC in Egypt

Overview

CDC works with the Egyptian government, Ministry of Health (MOH) and other partners to:

• Reduce the impact of emerging diseases.
• Build capacity in areas such as lab systems and epidemiology.
• Strengthen immunization services.
• Respond to public health emergencies.
• Conduct surveillance, surveys, and studies.

CDC staff assigned to World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) provide direct support on measles and rubella elimination. CDC staff also directly support respiratory disease surveillance and response.

Global health security

Strategic focus

CDC supports efforts to protect Egypt's public’s health by developing and strengthening disease detection and outbreak response systems. CDC provides capacity-building activities and training in:

• Epidemiology.
• Surveillance.
• Laboratory diagnostics.
• Data management and reporting.
• Infection prevention and control.
• Outbreak investigations and response.

Public health systems

CDC supports capacity building in surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, and data management and reporting focused on complying with International Health Regulations. CDC supported trainings for surveillance data analysis and data visualization to provide timely data for policy makers.

Laboratory systems strengthening

Egypt’s Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) virology lab serves as the nation’s reference laboratory. CPHL is a WHO-designated National Influenza Center.

WHO Collaborating Center at CDC's Influenza Division routinely provides technical assistance and training to CPHL. This training includes support for sub-national laboratories. CPHL regularly shares influenza data and specimens with WHO Collaborating Centers. This data helps inform biannual global recommendations for influenza vaccine antigen composition.

Workforce development

CDC supports training health workforce through the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP). CDC’s FETP helps Egypt build critical global health security capabilities. FETP trains future disease detectives and public health leaders. Key leaders at MOH are FETP graduates.

CDC’s Public Health Emergency Management Fellowship builds capacity for Egypt’s National Rapid Response Team (RRT) Training. This 3-month immersion fellowship builds public health emergency management capacities within partner nations’ public health authorities.

The newly trained RRT members were deployed to investigate pediatric cases of Hepatitis A, early COVID-19 detection, and control dengue outbreaks.

Surveillance systems

CDC supported expansion of Egypt’s Event Based Surveillance (EBS) system which serves as an early warning system for public health events. This included capacity building of MOH staff to provide timely and quality data for decision makers through rebuilding the EBS system.

Emergency response

CDC supported the development of Egypt’s National RRT Program in 2022 through the following activities:

• Development of the program’s management team structure and their training.
• Development of standard operating procedures.
• Staffing and training the RRT first cohort on program and all hazards response.
  

Immunization

Strategic focus

Since 1995, CDC has been providing technical and financial support for vaccine-preventable disease control and prevention to the MOH. This assistance is offered both directly to and through WHO-EMRO.

CDC provides support to WHO-EMRO and collaborates with MOH through CDC offices in the Middle East North Africa region. This assistance targets efforts such as eradicating polio, eliminating measles, preventing rubella and congenital rubella syndrome, and enhancing routine immunization services. During and shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasis was placed on supporting COVID-19 vaccine rollout and restoring routine immunization services.

Key achievements

• Achieved significant progress in vaccine preventable disease control and prevention.
• A CDC supported door to door COVID-19 vaccination campaign was implemented in six governorates.
  • This campaign reached more than 1.8 million people in 2022.

• More than 3,000 public health officers and healthcare workers were trained on surveillance for adverse events following immunization.
  • They also received training on communication skills for increasing vaccine demand, data management and evidence-based decision making.
• Indigenous wild poliovirus transmission was eliminated in 2006. Wild poliovirus is monitored by ongoing environmental surveillance in a program assisted by CDC and other partners.

Influenza

Strategic focus

For over 20 years, CDC's Global Influenza Program, the MOH and partners have strengthened Egypt's capacity to respond to influenza threats.

CDC works to achieve these goals by:

• Providing epidemiologic and laboratory technical support for influenza detection, response, and prevention.
• Expanding the evidence-base to inform prevention and control programs and policies, including influenza vaccination.
• Supporting pandemic preparedness.

Key achievements

Egypt’s CPHL virology lab serves as the nation’s reference laboratory and is a WHO-designated National Influenza Center. CPHL routinely receives technical assistance and training from the WHO Collaborating Center at CDC Influenza Division. At a national level, they support sub-national laboratories and regularly share influenza data and specimens with WHO Collaborating Centers. This further informs biannual global recommendations for influenza vaccine antigen composition.

Influenza surveillance data from Egypt are used in local pandemic planning while guiding decision makers on appropriate prevention and control strategies. This has also included the introduction and use of seasonal influenza vaccines for higher risk groups.

Smoking and respiratory diseases

Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Palestine implemented a tobacco control campaign in 2022-2023 reaching over 50 million people in the region. The "United Against Tobacco and COVID-19" campaign was developed after many governments realized the increased risk of severe illness among smokers. This regional campaign was a collaboration with CDC, the MOHs, Vital Strategies, and The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET).

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