Cairo – Mubasher: The World Bank is seeking to bolster Egypt with a $500 million loan to support the treatment of hepatitis C.

The bank has offered the loan to Egypt’s acting prime minister Mostafa Medbouli and Finance minister Amr El-Garhy, health minister Ahmed Emad El-Din said in his speech during the inauguration of a number of projects in Sadat city on Monday.

He added that the cabinet recommended looking for other alternatives instead of the loan to alleviate burdens on the state budget. 

The health minister mentioned that about 1.5 million citizens have been treated from the virus, pointing out that about 5 million people have conducted a medical checkup within 14 months.