Egypt will launch a national programme for the early detection and treatment of childhood cancers in January 2027, with an estimated cost of EGP 1.8bn and a target of reducing diagnosis times by at least 20%, the Ministry of Health and Population said.
Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar reviewed the final preparations for the “Noor Saghir” initiative, which the ministry described as Egypt’s first integrated national programme dedicated to the early detection of childhood cancers.
The programme will cover children from birth to 18 years of age, initially focusing on six cancers identified by the initiative as common and highly treatable: acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Wilms tumour, low-grade glioma and retinoblastoma.
