2016 High-level Forum of Directors-General for Development Cooperation (DG Form)
(Dubai - 3 November 2016)
Case Study by the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD)
A The SDGs most relevant to the case study:
 SDG3: Ensure healthy lives & promote well-being for all.
 SDG4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities
 SDG8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.
B The portion of the DG Forum sessions that fits the case study:
- Portion 3 on the “Tools for strengthening South-South and Triangular Cooperation”.
C Summary of the case-study:
 Title: “Partnering with Egyptian Centers of Excellence in the Medical Field to Provide Regional
Solutions with a Global Perspective”.
 Country/organization: Egypt – The Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development
(www.eapd.gov.eg) – The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 Implementing agencies:
1. The Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation (the Heart Center in Aswan).
2. The Mohamed Ghoneim Urology & Nephrology Center in Mansoura.
3. The Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt (57357 hospital).
 Thematic areas: Capacity building in the medical fields – Partnerships with Medical Centers of
Excellence – Improving Health Care systems in Africa.
 Period of Implementation: Since August 2014.
D Case study description:
 As the first development institution in Egypt established to support countries of the South,
especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, to achieve their sustainable development goals, the EAPD
quickly realized that one of the biggest hurdles to development in many countries in this part of the
world remained the heavy burden of disease. Despite the overall progress made in reducing
mortality and prolonging life since 1970, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa still showed elevated
rates of death within certain age groups due to a number of diseases, including some noncommunicable diseases for which known cures and interventions were available in other parts of
the world.
 This is a multi-pronged problem since deaths from a number of these prevalent diseases are due to
a number of factors, including lack of awareness, absence of early detection, weak health care
systems and shortage (and in some cases non-existence) of medical expertise and equipments.
 Although this seemed like a colossal problem to try to tackle, the EAPD believed that it could
contribute in alleviating this heavy burden. Since this was a multi-pronged problem, it could only
be approached through a multi-pronged solution. Traditional measures would not work. We
needed to think creatively if we wanted to make a difference, however small, given the huge
undertaking and our limited resources.
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 Brainstorming sessions by the EAPD team were conducted to identify the elements of the solution
that could be put in place. The overarching aim was to make a quick, yet lasting and scalable,
impact relying on the comparative advantages Egypt possesses. EAPD itself does not have
expertise in the medical fields, however it has convening power, the long-standing experience of
decades of international development cooperation work by its two predecessors (the Egyptian
Agency for Technical Cooperation with Africa and the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation
with the Commonwealth States) and the desire to think outside the box.
 The conventional tools of development cooperation were initially thought of: sending medical aid
or equipments to African countries; dispatching doctors expert in a number of diseases for a short
duration; organizing capacity building workshops in Egypt for medical practioners from SubSaharan Africa. However the problem was too big for any one tool or one intervention. Then the
idea of forging long-term partnerships with the entities that had expertise in selected diseases
surfaced during our meetings. The EAPD team wanted to collaborate with the best of the best in
the medical fields. The intent was to leverage their knowledge, resources, technical expertise,
networks and big hearts to help a number of African countries progressively build their capacities
to face the heavy disease burden they are facing.
 The idea of reaching out to international partners was briefly discussed, however we all quickly
came to the same conclusion: why look outside when Egypt was home to world-class medical
institutions with undisputable achievements and ambitious plans for the future, headed by
renowned experts in a number of diseases. This is how our partnerships with three Egyptian
Centers of Excellence in medicine were born back in mid-2014. We are very proud of what is
being achieved for Sub-Saharan Africa through these partnerships. They are enabling us to make a
difference in the lives of many there, and is giving us hope that more can be achieved in the future.
Each Center of Excellence’s contributions are different; however their interventions are
comprehensive since they all include elements of: building the capacity of African medical
practioners who have enormous untapped potential + providing sophisticated medical equipments
to African hospitals + offering free treatment to a number of African patients.
 Below are snapshots of these institutions and of what is being achieved in Africa through them:
1. The Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation (the Heart Center in Aswan):
- The burden of cardiovascular disease in African countries is huge. It is, in most cases, the
second common cause of death after infectious disease, and a major cause of chronic illness
and disability, with serious negative impacts on development efforts.
- The Foundation was established by Sir Magdi Yacoub, the prominent Egyptian Professor of
Cardiothoracic Surgery at Imperial College; who is the founder of the largest heart & lung
transplantation programme in the world and of the Chain of Hope Charity which treats
children with correctable cardiac conditions
developing countries. The Foundation’s
Aswan Center offers state-of-the-art free
basic health services to the less privileged at
the highest international standards.
- The EAPD has signed a memorandum of
understanding with the Foundation with the
overall aim of developing African expertise in
the cardiovascular field through the transfer
of knowledge, skills and experience as well as
providing opportunities for talented African
practioners there to realize their potential (5
training opportunities a year, each for 6 months, in the Aswan Heart Center).
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- Currently, 5 practioners from Uganda are being trained there, and an Ethiopian doctor has
just returned to Addis Ababa after having completed a 12-months Cardiology fellowship
program at the Aswan Center. Another doctor from Ethiopia is due to start a one-year
programme shortly. She was spotted by Sir Magdi Yacoub during his last visit to Ethiopia
and he was keen to give her the opportunity to train under his supervision at the Heart Center
to gain the skills needed to treat her fellow
compatriots back in Ethiopia once she returns.
- The EAPD, in cooperation with the Foundation,
has in July 2014 donated a cardiac surgery unit
at a hospital in Addis Ababa, which is mainly
serving children who suffer heart conditions.
Through this partnership, a heart catheter was
also donated to a hospital in Addis Ababa in
July 2016, which represents a quantum leap in
the hospital’s capacities and will be used by the
doctors trained at the Aswan Center.
- A regional conference on rheumatic heart
disease (high prevalence rates in Africa) is
being organized by the Aswan Heart Center, in
cooperation with the Pan-African Society of Cardiology, in Egypt in January 2016.
- The Foundation also offers free treatment to some African patients, and has sent medical
convoys to African countries under the leadership of Sir Magdi Yacoub to operate there, train
medical teams to perform heart surgeries and use the modern equipment donated by EAPD.
2. The Mohamed Ghoneim Urology & Nephrology Center in Mansoura:
- Chronic kidney disease remains a forgotten and neglected condition in many countries of
Africa and as such is not a priority on the African health agenda. Very few people in the
continent with kidney disease are managed early or receive treatment, creating a substantial
health burden.
- The Urology & Nephrology Center in Mansoura was established in 1983 by Professor
Mohamed Ghoneim, the distinguished Egyptian Urologist and world leader in this field, to
provide comprehensive management of disorders from the urology and nephrology points of
view. The world class Center acts not only as a provider of medical services but also as a
center for advanced research.
- The EAPD has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with the Centre which is
paving the way for a fruitful collaboration
for the benefit of African countries. It was
agreed that 4 training programs would be
organized
annually
for
African
practioners, with the possibility of
dispatching specialists and technicians
from the Center to conduct training
courses in a number of African countries.
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- For example, a training program was held for 28 African doctors from 15 countries in kidney
and urinary tract surgery (in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank) back in
December 2015; and an international Hemodialysis training course for African countries was
organized in April 2016 to enable African doctors to provide high-quality medical care for
end stage renal disease patients in African countries. The course included practical training
on applying the latest techniques for hemodialysis using the latest medical equipment, and
working on solving clinical problems.
- The EAPD had in 2014 financed the
establishment of an EgyptianEthiopian Nephrology & Dialysis
Center in Ethiopia, which has made a
huge impact given that there was no
kidney
dialysis
machines
in
Ethiopian’s government hospitals.
Two Egyptian urology specialists and
three nurses were assigned to work at
the center for six months.
3. The Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt (57357 hospital):
- The Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt is the first and only specialized children’s cancer
hospital in the Middle East and Africa and the largest in the world. Launched in 2007 as a
community charity hospital, it has a capacity of 320 beds with an expansion capability to
accommodate 350 beds. The hospital offers world-class treatment and research in pediatric
oncology, and relies on highly competent professionals and the most advanced technology. It
is the leading health care information technology
provider in the region.
- The EAPD and the hospital have embarked on an
ambitious cooperation program, that includes a
capacity building component aiming at training
600 African medical practioners in the hospital
premises in Cairo, providing technical expertise
to a number of hospitals in Africa, as well as offering free treatment to a number of children
with cancer in African countries.
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- The EAPD is also partnering with the hospital (among other partners) to explore the
possibility of establishing an African Health Data & Disease Control Hub that would serve as
an African health & disease data, information, surveillance & communication portal; and
would leverage Egypt’s advancements in ICT & its commitment to healthcare for the benefit
of Africa.
E Information:
 Name: Dr. Hazem Fahmy.
 Title/Organization: Secretary General of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development.
 Email address: [email protected]
F Attachment:
 PowerPoint presentation.
G Sharing agreement:
 We are happy to share this information with other institutions/countries.
H Checklist for Submission of Case Study:
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Relevance to SDGs – Which SDGs.
Relevance to DG Forum session – Which session.
One Paragraph summary.
Case Study description
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Attachments.
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