Egyptian Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar - file
CAIRO - 7 September 2023: Egyptian Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar has witnessed the signing of four protocols to strengthen cooperation between the ministry and a number of medications companies.
This came on Thursday on the sidelines of the Global Congress on Population, Health and Development, which started proceedings on September 5 and will last until September 8 under the sponsorship of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
Spokesman for the Health and Population Ministry Hossam Abdel Ghaffar pointed out that the protocols, which included an agreement with a German company, aim to establish new medical centers, train doctors and contribute to carrying out health initiatives launched by President Sisi, among others.
Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population confirmed that Egypt was one of the first countries to become aware of the negative impact of climate change on health care systems, and this was evident during the remarkable efforts to coordinate all health and climate issues for all parties participating in the conference activities of the 27th session of the World Climate Summit, which Egypt chaired last year, the most notable result of which was participation in the Action Alliance on Health and Climate (ATACH), with the participation of Dr. Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
Dr. Abdel Ghaffar said, in his speech, that this alliance is a mechanism to bring together countries, technical partners, and funding bodies to support the implementation of joint health commitments to confront climate change, stressing the work efforts were crowned with success through this alliance by launching the “I-CAN” initiative to support policies related to climate and nutrition.
The Minister of Health noted the opening of Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital during the activities of that summit and presenting it as a model for the first experience of a green, environmentally friendly hospital in Egypt after its success in obtaining international recognition from the global network of green hospitals.
He added that the celebration of Arab Health Day includes two very important topics among its activities: The first is to draw attention to the impact of climate change on health, and the second is to celebrate and honor the winners of the Arab Doctor Award for the current year.
He explained that it has become clear to everyone, whether at the Arab regional level or at the global level, the extremely dangerous impact of climate change on all aspects of life, including the significant negative impact on human, animal and plant health, which is why we have made great efforts over the past years to warn of its dangers and repercussions on health care systems. This, in turn, hindered our national and international efforts to reach a space beyond growth and development.”
The Minister of Health pointed out that climate change has helped, in one way or another, in the spread of a number of epidemic diseases, whether those we have experienced recently, such as the “Covid 19” epidemic, or the future epidemics expected to be faced, which represent a direct threat to global health emergency systems.
Abdel Ghaffar warned that by 2030, climate change is expected to cause an estimated 250,000 deaths annually due to malnutrition, malaria, and heat stress, in addition to the direct costs of damage to the health sector, which is expected to reach four billion dollars annually.
He stressed, "In this regard, we do not lose sight of the serious impact of climate change on global food security. Healthy food is an integral part of human health, and because of the repercussions of climate change, the world has witnessed serious developments in the quality and efficiency of agricultural crops, which portends a real disaster related to malnutrition diseases." And physical and mental diseases among children and the age groups most in need, women and the elderly.”
The Minister of Health explained that the repercussions of climate change are not limited to organic diseases only, but extend to mental and cognitive health diseases among individuals, as it causes the development of their hostile behavior in the work environment, which affects their personal and social characteristics.
Abdel Ghaffar said, "Although our Arab countries are among the countries with low carbon emissions, climate change does not recognize borders, and therefore they are affected, like others, by high carbon emissions from major industrial countries, which prompts us all to make joint efforts to confront it.
He stressed the keenness to participate, complement and support all national and international efforts to confront the effects of climate change during the activities of the twenty-eighth session of the Climate Summit in the sisterly United Arab Emirates this year.
The Minister of Health added, "At the national level, we were keen to launch the One Health Strategy to achieve a sustainable balance between all components of ecosystems in a way that helps improve the health of humans, animals and plants alike."
He continued, "We made sure that the World Conference on Health, Population and Development, which is currently being held in Egypt, includes a number of dialogue and discussion sessions on the impact of climate change on health and population issues and its implications for development efforts.
Abdel Ghaffar stressed the full keenness to continue cooperation and support for the success of all decisions issued by the Council of Arab Ministers of Health in its successive sessions, considering that allocating a day to celebrate Arab Health Day is a sign of hope to enhance our joint efforts towards pushing Arab health work to its actual executive frameworks.
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