Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population has signed a memorandum of understanding with Roche Diagnostics to establish a national digital pathology network aimed at enhancing diagnostic capabilities and accelerating cancer detection across the country.
The agreement was signed at the Egyptian Center for Disease Control in the presence of Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar. Mohamed Hassani, assistant minister for health initiatives, signed on behalf of the ministry, while Moataz Nassef, chairman of Roche Egypt Diagnostics, signed on behalf of the company.
Abdel Ghaffar described the initiative as a strategic step toward precision medicine and digital diagnostics, providing a nationwide digital infrastructure to improve diagnostic accuracy and support better treatment planning. The network will convert pathology samples into digital images that can be analyzed using artificial intelligence, helping bridge geographic gaps between patients and medical specialists.
The first phase will cover seven locations: the Egyptian Center for Disease Control, the Egyptian Center for Medical Research at Ain Shams University, Nasser Institute Hospital, the ministry’s central laboratories, and specialized oncology centers in Sohag, Kafr El-Sheikh and Beheira.
The minister said digital pathology tools could increase diagnostic accuracy to around 92%, compared with approximately 85% using traditional methods. He also noted that the presidential Women’s Health Initiative had already reduced the average time from suspected diagnosis to treatment from 270 days to 49 days, with a future target of 28 days.
Nassef said the agreement reflects Roche Egypt’s long-term partnership with the ministry to advance diagnostic technologies and strengthen the healthcare system. Thomas Baumgartner, deputy head of mission at the Swiss Embassy in Egypt, said the initiative highlights growing Egypt-Switzerland cooperation in healthcare innovation.
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