Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received renowned Egyptian surgeon Sir Madgi Yacoub in the ministry's headquarters on Sunday to discuss plans to support his foundation and the Aswan Heart Centre’s activities in Africa and Nile Basin countries.

The Magdi Yacoub Foundation was created in 2008 by Professor Magdi Yacoub with the mission of establishing an international medical center that offers free state-of-the-art basic health services to the less privileged.


The foundation overseeing the heart centre is a charity with a board of trustees headed by Sir Yacoub that is fully-dependent on donations to support its buildings, operations and growth.


The official spokesperson for the ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid stated that the meeting was a result of the ministry’s insistence on continuously supporting the world-class Egyptian cardiologist to improve the treatment of heart diseases in Africa, particularly in the Nile Basin countries.


The efforts of mutual support and cooperation are embodied into the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD) through the agency's training courses in the fields of health and medicine for many African nations.


Abu Zeid elaborated that the cooperation between the ministry and the centre should set an example for other African nations, highlighting the training the centre offers and the opportunity for the transfer of knowledge throughout the continent, as exemplified through Dr. Yacoub's recent efforts in Ethiopia in establishing a treatment and surgical unit.


Dr Magdi Yacoub expressed his appreciation for the foreign ministry's support, saying that the efforts taken by the EAPD serves all of Egypt’s African counterparts, especially in the field of medicine due to the need of many African nations.



https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/311659.aspx