On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) office in Cairo announced a new funding agreement with the British government worth £1 million to provide medical care to patients and injured people evacuated from Gaza for treatment in Egypt. The funding will assist around 4,000 individuals, including those with long-term health conditions.
This new contribution follows an earlier £1 million grant, bringing the total UK support for this project to £2 million.
Earlier this year, a joint delegation from WHO Egypt and the British Embassy visited El Arish General Hospital, one of the key hospitals treating Gaza patients. The team met with patients and hospital staff to learn about their needs and challenges. They also met officials from Egypt's Health Ministry.
"Egypt has welcomed the highest number of injured people from Gaza and continues to treat them equally with Egyptian citizens in 170 hospitals across 24 governorates. We are grateful for our strong partnership with the United Kingdom and this new funding, which will help us keep supporting Egypt's health system in providing vital care. But we also stress that peace is the only real solution. WHO calls again for protection of healthcare in Gaza, unblocked humanitarian aid, and an immediate and lasting ceasefire," Dr Nema Saeed Abd, WHO Representative in Egypt, stated in a press release.
For his part, British Ambassador Gareth Bayley said Egypt's role in helping people from Gaza has been vital and that the UK stands firmly with Egyptian and WHO partners to provide urgent medical care.
Since November 2023, WHO has supported Egypt in receiving thousands of patients from Gaza, supplying over $8 million in medical supplies and training for nearly 3,000 emergency and psychological care health workers.
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