Ahram Online: What are the main objectives of your visit to Egypt? And what are the most important results of your discussions with Egyptian officials?

Hosams Abu Meri: I was invited to Cairo to participate in an international conference on gastroenterology titled 'A year in review.' Egypt is a regional leader in gastroenterology, and I was honoured to address the experts and leaders in the field. 

The pandemic has introduced new health issues, particularly in gastrointestinal health, where stress and anxiety often manifest in physical symptoms. We can address pressing health and gastroenterology issues by uniting our expertise, resources, and passion.

During my meetings with Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population, and Dr. Ashraf Hatem, Chairman of the Egyptian Parliament's Health Committee, we discerned many areas of potential cooperation between Latvia and Egypt. 

The Egyptian side expressed interest in signing contracts between the two governments in digitalization and education. These contracts would constitute an excellent basis for strengthening cooperation between the health sectors in our countries. On the other hand, I invited Egyptian officials to visit Latvia to learn more about our experience in hospital management and exchange ideas on promoting health tourism. Latvia's highly skilled medical professionals and modern services provide many opportunities for medical treatments, especially in rehabilitation and diagnostics. 

A.O.: How do you envision future cooperation between Latvia and Egypt in the healthcare sector?

H.A.M.: Latvia is highly interested in deepening cooperation with Egypt in health and medical sciences. We discussed many ways to promote the partnership, including holding mutual consultations, exchanging specialists and information, organizing symposiums and conferences, and publishing monographs and articles. 

My discussions with Egyptian health officials also focused on expanding relations between the health sector in Egypt and Latvia, including educational and scientific institutions, healthcare facilities, and other public organizations within the health system. 

Medical professionals and practitioners in both countries need to learn from each other the best ways to tackle common daily challenges. We have to exploit our increased global interconnection. Alone, we can do so little, but together, we can do so much, and there is simply no need to reinvent something that our colleagues elsewhere have effectively used. 

A.O.: What are your long-term goals for this partnership? How will it benefit both people?

H.A.M.: The Latvian and Egyptian governments have begun replacing paper-based systems with Electronic Health Records (HER) to improve managing patient data. E.H.R. systems help reduce errors, improve patient care, and make healthcare more efficient by allowing healthcare providers to access and share patient information quickly. These systems also significantly promote telemedicine and remote healthcare. 

Furthermore, plenty of opportunities exist for establishing joint projects in health and medical sciences and higher education. Only four Egyptian students currently study medicine or dentistry at Riga Stradiņš University (R.S.U.), Latvia's largest healthcare-oriented educational institution.

The R.S.U. Faculty of Dentistry prepares highly qualified dentists with the knowledge and practical skills to treat patients with oral and dental diseases and educate the public on preventing these diseases. The university offers the program in English.

I would also like to underscore the growing importance of coordination in controlling the spread of infectious diseases such as H.I.V. and hepatitis A, B, and C. 

A.O.: What areas of healthcare do you see as suitable for cooperation and exchange of expertise to achieve maximum benefit?

H.A.M.: We discussed ways to improve our response to medicine shortages, such as those many countries worldwide experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. I also met with pharmacy companies to explore developing trading relations between Egypt and Latvia, including the possibility of registering medicines produced in Egypt in the European Union and Latvia. This process would increase the amount of drugs available in both countries. In addition, Egyptian companies showed interest in investing in Latvian pharmaceutical companies.

A.O.: What are the best practices from the Latvian healthcare system that could benefit Egypt? And vice versa?

H.A.M.: Antimicrobial resistance (A.M.R.) threatens societies no less than climate change since A.M.R. burdens healthcare systems and increases healthcare costs. It also negatively impacts the economy by reducing healthy life years and work capacity. 

Latvia has considered combating A.M.R. a major priority. In 2023, Latvia's Ministry of Health developed a joint document with the Ministry of Agriculture to address A.M.R. This document aligns with the recommendations and priority actions outlined by the E.U., the European Centre for Disease Control, and the World Health Organisation. It holds national significance and fits into the broader international context.

I was happy to share Latvia's leading role in combating A.M.R. with other countries facing the challenges we encountered years ago. Latvia, which ranks among the E.U.'s lowest antibiotics consumers, aims to reduce its consumption to a level below what the E.U. officially sanctioned.

Latvia also benefited from international cooperation, whereby experts exchanged information on potential threats and best practices. 

We also discussed Latvia's experience in hospital management. Our highly qualified and experienced professionals are ready to share best practices with their Egyptian colleagues in developing new and modern hospitals.

Meanwhile, Latvia wishes to benefit from Egypt's experience in promoting medical tourism and developing high-quality medical tourism facilities. Despite its skilled personnel and highly developed services for treating medical tourists in person and remotely, Latvia still has room for development in this area.

A.O.: What are the common challenges that Latvia and Egypt face in their health care system?

H.A.M.: Healthcare systems worldwide face several significant challenges that affect health status and availability of healthcare services. The most prominent challenges include insufficient funding, lack of medical personnel, and differences in access to health care between urban and rural regions. 

Financial challenges limit the construction of new hospitals, the introduction of medical technology, and staff training. In 2025, defense constitutes Latvia's number one priority. A robust healthcare system is crucial for population resilience. 

Like Latvia, medical professionals in Egypt emigrate, seeking better working conditions and higher wages. Such emigration creates a shortage of doctors, nurses, and specialists, especially in rural areas, and reduces the quality of the healthcare system.

Therefore, both countries seek more equitable quality and availability of medical services in urban and rural areas. Optimizing Latvia's Hospital network is a top priority. We plan to keep emergency medical aid departments and therapeutic care closer to people's places of residence, including rural areas, and concentrate more complex types of assistance in regional and national-level hospitals.

A.O.: What role does technology play in improving health services in both countries?

H.A.M.: Technology could be incredibly transformative in countries such as Latvia and Egypt. During the pandemic, telemedicine and remote health access played a substantial role. Despite the disparities in population between Egypt and Latvia,  telemedicine can bridge the gap between rural areas and cities, ensuring people can receive timely care despite their location. Remote consultations and electronic prescriptions for drugs reduce the burden on physical healthcare infrastructure and ease follow-up care and consultations, which is especially useful for managing chronic diseases.

A.I. tools are increasingly used for diagnostics in Latvia, especially radiology and pathology. Using A.I. to analyze medical images, detect abnormalities, and predict disease progression could improve diagnostic accuracy and speed, ensuring patients get the proper treatment faster.

However, introducing technology into medicine poses particular challenges. For example, patients and health professionals have to be digitally literate. Furthermore, technology should not substitute human empathy, communication, and the patient-provider relationship. 

A.O.: Are there opportunities for joint research initiatives between Latvian and Egyptian institutions?

H.A.M.: Egypt and Latvia have made enormous strides in medical research and healthcare development. Cooperation between our institutions could lead to mutually beneficial outcomes in disease prevention. Public health and epidemiology research are other substantial areas of cooperation to manage health crises more effectively.

Modern challenges require solutions that promote more sophisticated and advanced forms of digital health, including telemedicine, e-health technologies, and health informatics. Latvia's capabilities in data science and A.I. could complement Egypt's efforts to integrate A.I. and machine learning into healthcare for better diagnostics, predictive analytics, and patient management.