CAIRO — Have you ever thought about how music can be used in psychotherapy or to regulate blood pressure? For Egyptians, the answer is probably no.

On Oct. 8, the Ministry of Health announced that it would hold a survey on non-infectious chronic diseases such as high blood pressure in a number of provinces so that needs for medicine and treatment can be reassessed.

A source from the Ministry of Health told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that music therapy is unlikely to be part of this study. “Despite our belief that the percentage of people with high blood pressure in Egypt is one of the highest [in the Middle East] due to heavy psychological, physical and social pressures, I do not think music therapy sessions could be part of the government's plans of treatment,” the source said.

However, belief in the healing powers of music has begun to spread among some artists and doctors in Egypt. The Egyptian Feminist Union, together with a number of jazz musicians from Panama, organized a workshop to train more than 100 Egyptian women from Cairo, Alexandria and Minya to treat themselves and others who suffer from severe anxiety, phobias and high blood pressure, through relaxation exercises and music. The workshop was held on the sidelines of a visit by the Panamanian Danilo Perez Foundation to Cairo to participate in the Cairo International Jazz Festival from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1.