The project lasted from 2022 to 2024 to support COVID-19 response activities. It then expanded to a broader concept.

Over two years, WHO, at the forefront of global health emergency responses, closely collaborated with Egyptian health authorities led by the Ministry of Health and Population.

This endeavour, backed by $11 million in funding from the US government via USAID, unfolded from March 2022 to June 2024. The primary goals included expediting access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, mitigating complications and fatalities linked to the virus, and fortifying the healthcare infrastructure to combat and manage epidemic threats effectively.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, lauded the collective achievements of the Ministry, WHO, and USAID in fostering a healthy, resilient, and thriving society.

He emphasized how the COVID-19 crisis stress-tested health systems globally. The project's multifaceted approach encompassed augmenting vaccine uptake rates, enhancing cold chain logistics for storing and transporting vaccines, fostering community engagement, ensuring safe injections, monitoring post-vaccination adverse events, integrating COVID-19 vaccines into national immunization programs, fortifying disease surveillance, bolstering infection control measures, combating antimicrobial resistance, enhancing biosecurity in labs, and refining medical diagnostics and treatment protocols.

Numerous milestones were reached through this initiative, such as enhancing the proficiency of healthcare personnel, drafting strategic documents, generating scientific insights, automating national databases, and supporting campaigns to boost COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Abdel-Ghaffar also cited the Ministry of Health and Population's door-to-door drive and the Egyptian Red Crescent's medical outreach efforts as examples of such enhancement.

The strategic framework for the Egypt-UN partnership includes a key objective to improve human capital by ensuring equitable access to quality services and social protection by 2027.

The project embraced a holistic approach, fostering partnerships with various stakeholders, including the Egyptian Drug Authority, the General Authority for Healthcare, the Egyptian Red Crescent, and multiple ministries and UN bodies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Nema Abed, the WHO Representative in Egypt, highlighted the commitment to enhancing public health and emergency response capacities. Similarly, USAID/Egypt Mission Director Sean Jones underscored the enduring collaboration's role in bolstering Egypt's ability to handle pandemic diseases effectively.