Egypt and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) discussed expanding cooperation in preventive healthcare and public health, focusing on strengthening health infrastructure and improving medical waste management systems.
Egypt’s Health Ministry said Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar met with Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya to review ongoing joint initiatives and discuss future plans aimed at supporting the country’s preventive health sector.
Abdel Ghaffar praised the support provided by Africa CDC, highlighting its contributions in supplying vehicles for hazardous medical waste disposal, shredding and sterilisation equipment, refrigerated vehicles for transporting vaccines and sera, transport vehicles for vaccination and rapid response teams, as well as cold storage units for vaccine preservation.
Health Ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar said the meeting focused on promoting long-term investment in preventive healthcare, including the provision of medical equipment and supplies needed to strengthen public health services.
He added that the two sides agreed on a plan to establish four safe medical waste disposal sites in the governorates of Cairo, Assiut, Sohag, and Aswan, with completion targeted for August.
The discussions also covered specialised training programmes to improve the skills of preventive healthcare teams, including training in supply chain management and immunisation programmes, as well as preparing health directorate staff to handle medical waste safely and sustainably.
According to the ministry, the cooperation forms part of broader efforts to strengthen the resilience of Egypt’s health system and improve preparedness and response to health threats and disease outbreaks.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Health Minister Amr Kandil, Head of the Preventive Medicine Sector Radi Hamad, and UNICEF Representative in Egypt Natalia Winder Rossi.
