CAIRO, Egypt — Egyptian medical convoys will treat Sudanese patients with Hepatitis C in the coming weeks under an agreement with Sudan's Health Ministry.

The Egyptian government started preparations in mid-March to carry out multiple health initiatives targeting African patients and a delegation from the Ministry of Health and Population has already visited Chad. The efforts coincide with Egypt taking over the chairmanship of the African Union Feb. 10.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made a number of recommendations at the March 17 closing session of the Arab African Youth Platform, held in Aswan in southern Egypt. They included an Egyptian initiative to eliminate Hepatitis C among one million Africans and a new phase, focusing on refugees living in Egypt, of its 100 Million Healthy Lives Campaign, created to end Hepatitis C and address other conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity among Egyptians.

In a joint April 9 statement, the UNHCR and WHO praised the endeavor. The 280,000 refugees registered with the UNHCR in Egypt include many refugees from Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Sudan and others from Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria and Yemen.