Ahmed El‑Sobky, chair of the Egypt Healthcare Authority, met Mohamed Sherif, Egypt’s assistant foreign minister for African affairs, to outline a series of health‑cooperation initiatives targeting the Nile Basin and the Horn of Africa.
El‑Sobky said the authority will mobilise Egyptian investors and draw on existing projects to share expertise in hospital management, governance, quality standards and digital transformation. He highlighted a virtual hospital – the first of its kind in Africa and the largest in the Middle East – as a platform for remote specialist consultations, training and knowledge exchange with African health institutions.
The discussion also covered the transfer of Egypt’s comprehensive health‑insurance model, with the aim of tailoring capacity‑building programmes to the needs of individual African countries. Both officials agreed to draft a joint working paper, coordinated with the foreign ministry, to launch a “We Care for You in Egypt” scheme offering discounted treatment for African patients.
Sherif described medical and economic diplomacy as core pillars of Egypt‑Africa ties. He urged that development and investment opportunities be matched to each region’s economic and social context, and called for an international marketing identity to promote Egyptian medical services.
Both sides see the initiatives as a way to deepen Egypt’s presence on the continent, attract patients, and create new channels for health‑sector investment and training.