Egypt’s deputy minister of well being for preventive medication and public well being, Amr Kandil, has been awarded the Nelson Mandela Award for Well being Promotion for 2026, turning into the primary Egyptian to obtain the distinction, the Ministry of Well being and Inhabitants introduced on Sunday, 8 February.
The award, granted by the manager board of the World Well being Group (WHO), acknowledges Kandil’s contributions over greater than 25 years to public well being in Egypt and the broader area. He’s scheduled to obtain the prize in Could 2026 in the course of the plenary session of the 79th World Well being Meeting, within the presence of the WHO director normal and a consultant of the Nelson Mandela Basis.
Established in 2019 to mark the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s delivery, the award is introduced yearly to people whose work has had a measurable influence on enhancing neighborhood well being.
In accordance to the ministry, Kandil has performed a number one function in advancing Egypt’s preventive well being system. His work has included overseeing efforts that led to WHO certifications declaring Egypt freed from polio, measles, rubella, and trachoma, in addition to the elimination of malaria, making it the primary African nation to realize that standing. Kandil additionally contributed to controlling hepatitis B amongst youngsters, one other regional first within the Japanese Mediterranean.
The ministry cited extra achievements underneath his management, together with enhancements in an infection management and antimicrobial resistance applications, the worldwide accreditation of 5 hospitals, and expanded digital programs for vaccinations, delivery and loss of life registration, illness surveillance, and quarantine companies. He was additionally concerned within the accreditation of 129 main well being care items and the implementation of state-funded remedy applications in 100 well being services.
Egyptian officers described the award as a recognition of sustained funding in preventive care and public well being infrastructure, in addition to an acknowledgment of Egypt’s rising function in regional well being initiatives.
The WHO Government Board selects a number of recipients every year for the Nelson Mandela Award for Well being Promotion, honoring long-term influence, management, and efforts to develop entry to care and cut back inequalities. Previous winners embrace public well being officers and researchers behind main illness, maternal, and neighborhood well being initiatives, reflecting Mandela’s legacy of social justice and the fitting to well being.
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