Earlier this month, Egypt’s health ministry announced it had reached an agreement to import a new treatment drug for hep C at a reduced cost. The drug, known as Sovaldi, costs $84,000 for a standard 12-week treatment, almost $1,000 per pill per day, according to the California-based Gilead Sciences, which manufacturers the pill. Egypt’s health ministry has said that under the agreement reached, there will be a special production line for the pill in Egypt, and the cost will be drastically reduced to $1,900 for a treatment that will last six months.
“It’s a great alternative for those who can afford it,” said the official from the WHO. “But even at reduced prices, we are looking at a cost that the average Egyptian family couldn’t hope to come close to affording.”
Metwaly shrugged when asked if he could afford to pay even part of the cost for treatment, saying that it was difficult for him to find the money for the travel costs into central Cairo for treatment.
“The government should give us a cure, and it should be free,” he said. “That is what we need.