AstraZeneca Egypt, the global pharmaceutical industry leader, has launched the ‘Nessmet Hawa’ initiative to provide home-based care for children with asthma in Egypt, in cooperation with the Pediatric Association for Asthma and Nutrition.

The goals of the initiative are in line with AstraZeneca’s strategy to support the health sector in Egypt, which aims to provide the necessary medical services for Egyptian citizens, in addition to contributing to fighting chronic diseases, especially respiratory diseases and asthma.

“Asthma is one of the common chronic diseases among children; as multiple reports indicated that the average rate in Egypt varies between 14-15 percent, as per several sources. Also, patients and their families incur a lot of money, affecting the medical sector’s budget, as patients suffer from repeated episodes of shortness of breath — that differs from one patient to another — where the bronchi narrow, limiting the oxygen in the lungs.” elaborated Ahmed El-Beleidy, professor of pediatrics at Cairo University and president of the Egyptian Society for Upgrading Pediatric Medical Practices.

“Scientific societies play a huge and important role during this exceptional phase that the entire world is going through, after the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, where several medical sectors in many countries have been affected aggressively. On the other hand, the rest have been completely unable to face the challenge to combat the coronavirus,” said Hala Gouda El-Nady, head of the Egyptian Pediatric Association for Asthma and Nutrition.

“We continue to play our role as a key strategic partner in supporting the medical sector to combat the global coronavirus, through raising awareness and upskilling the capabilities of healthcare providers,” said Hatem El-Werdany, country president of AstraZeneca Egypt.

The Nessmet Hawa initiative is built on two main pillars: preventive and curative. Firstly, it aims to raise awareness among all patients and healthcare providers on asthma and how to deal with it. Secondly, it also works on activating the treatment protocol for patients in accordance with international guidelines and recommendations,” added El-Werdany.

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