Egypt has concluded the first health ministerial meeting of the Developing Eight (D-8) Organisation for Economic Cooperation with broad agreement on four priority areas for joint action, the Ministry of Health announced. The three-day gathering, held in the New Administrative Capital, was chaired by Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Human Development Khaled Abdel Ghaffar.
In his closing remarks, Abdel Ghaffar welcomed delegations from member states and praised what he described as strong technical discussions and clear methodologies that laid a solid foundation for future cooperation. He said the meeting demonstrated a united commitment among D-8 countries to treat health collaboration as a cornerstone of resilience, economic and social development, and progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
Delegations reached consensus on four major pillars of cooperation. The first focuses on strengthening public health systems through enhanced disease surveillance, early warning networks, emergency preparedness and response, improved management of communicable and non-communicable diseases, the adoption of a One Health approach, and measures to address health risks associated with climate change.
The second pillar prioritises maternal, newborn and child health, with an emphasis on expanding access to high-quality services, increasing vaccination coverage, tackling nutrition gaps, and focusing on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life as the foundation for building human capital.
A third area of cooperation centres on improving access to medicines, vaccines and medical products. Member states agreed on the importance of boosting local manufacturing, promoting technology transfer, developing resilient and sustainable supply chains and enhancing regulatory harmonisation to reduce dependence on external markets and build shared regional capacities.
The fourth pillar concerns digital transformation in the health sector. Discussions underscored the transformative potential of digital health systems, the need for interoperable and unified standards, and the importance of supporting digital innovation to strengthen efficiency and equity in service delivery, particularly in underserved areas.
Abdel Ghaffar described the meeting as a “historic step” in deepening health cooperation among D-8 countries and reaffirmed that Egypt would remain a committed partner in advancing joint efforts to improve the health and well-being of populations across all member states.
